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STOMPBOX FEVER! OVERDRIVE PEDALS THAT’LL CURE YOUR BLUES!

e most iconic, infamous and explosive on-stage antics in six-string history!

CONT E N T S VOL. 42 | NO. 8 | AUGUST 2021

FEATURING

28 MARTY FRIEDMAN

The shred maestro tackles the Japanese pop charts

32 BLUES POWER! 38 THE BLACK KEYS HEAD FOR THE HILLS... ... and go to the source of Mississippi Hill Country blues 44 GUITAR'S GREATEST LIVE MOMENTS! 10 pedals that will help you channel the blues gods

From the iconic to the infamous to the incendiary, here are the 40 (-ish) wildest on-stage antics in six-string history

62 ON THE ROAD AGAIN?

44

Paul Gilbert, Eagles guitarist Vince Gill and Zepparella’s Gretchen Menn discuss a return to touring

68 BLACK VEIL BRIDES

Jake Pitts and Jinxx unleash The Phantom Tomorrow, BVB’s first full-length album in three years

TRANSCRIBED “The Less I Know the Better”

by Tame Impala

PAGE

89

“Helter Skelter”

by The Beatles

PAGE

94

PAGE

99

DEPARTMENTS

78. Cort Gold-A6 14 WOODSHED / MASTHEAD 79. Fender Mustang Micro 16 SOUNDING BOARD 81 COLUMNS Letters, reader art, Defenders of the Faith 8. String Theory

by Jimmy Brown 8. In Deep 19 TUNE-UPS

by Andy Aledort We check in with John Petrucci and Liquid Tension Experiment, plus Crypta, Zach Person, Tamar Aphek and As Everything Unfolds.

PLUS: Jimmy Brown explores the ProCo Panic Button pedal!

75 SOUNDCHECK 75. D’Angelico Deluxe Atlantic

and Deluxe Brighton 77. Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK Modern EverTune 6

83. The Gristle Report

by Greg Koch 84. Melodic Muse

by Andy Timmons

86 PERFORMANCE NOTES 110 TONAL RECALL The secrets behind Noel Gallagher’s

tone on the classic 1994 Oasis track, “Supersonic”

COVER PHOTO: ED CARAEFF/ICONIC IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

S E GAMI YTTEG/ E V I H C R A OTOHP SBC

“Jeremy”

by Pearl Jam

September 15, 1967: The Who’s Pete Townshend [right] smashes Tom Smothers’ acoustic guitar to bits on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

WOODSHED VOL. 42 | NO. 8 | AUGUST 2021

LIVE AND WELL!

I’M NOT CRAZY. I’m not suggesting that the whole pandemic thing is over. However, there’s no denying the fact that live music — actual live music, with flesh-and-blood musicians in the same physical space as flesh-and-blood music lovers — is creeping back into our lives as I write these non-Pulitzer-prizewinning words. I don’t have to look too far for proof, either. First of all, my bands have seven gigs (so far) lined up this summer; and while that’s nothing compared to 2019, it’s a massive improvement over 2020.

And then there’s all those tour-announcement press releases in my inbox; everyone from Megadeth to the Monkees — including Korn, Staind, Weezer, Green Day, Dead & Company, Rise Against, Lamb of God, Vince Gill, Zepparella, JD McPherson and many more — is hitting the road this summer or fall. And, again, while it’s definitely not what it was in 2019, it’s like night and day compared to last year.

It’s that very spirit — the idea of the world returning “back to live” — that inspired this issue’s cover feature and sidebars, including the one where we asked guitarists to name the most life-changing live shows they’ve ever seen. By the way, for me it’s Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble at Kean College in Union, NJ, March 17, 1984. My universe changed that night (I even got to write about it in the liner notes to SRV’s 2014 box set, The Complete Epic Recordings Collection [Sony Legacy], which was kinda cool). BTW, here’s GW Tech Editor Paul Riario’s entry: YNGWIE MALMSTEEN: Club Manhattan, Spring Valley, NY, May 16, 1985 “Back then there was no internet, and I just heard about this young gun from Sweden making waves as the newly minted guitar hero with his blazing neo-classical style. So there I was in a small club of maybe 100 guitar-playing dudes who came to see him. My friend was in the opening band and told me afterward how annoyed Yngwie was at the low ceilings in the club because he couldn’t swing his ing to witness the fastest, most technical playing his classical shred to play a blues solo that was like ‘Satch Boogie’ and ‘Ice Cream Man’ on steroids.”

DAMIAN FANELLI Editor-in-Chief

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Damian Fanelli (damian.fanelli@futurenet.com) SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jimmy Brown TECH EDITOR Paul Riario ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andy Aledort, Chris Gill PRODUCTION EDITOR Jem Roberts MUSIC TRANSCRIPTIONIST AND ENGRAVER Jeff Perrin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Gregory Adams, Brad Angle, Jim Beaugez, Richard Bienstock, Joe Bosso, Jeff Kitts, Eric Kirkland, Greg Koch, Alan Paul, Amit Sharma, Andy Timmons, Jon Wiederhorn

ART

SENIOR DESIGN DIRECTOR Mixie von Bormann CUSTOM TYPEFACE Steve Mitchell

PHOTOGRAPHY

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VIDEO

VIDEO EDITOR Alan Chaput

ONLINE

DIGITAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Astley-Brown ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Jackson Maxwell

CIRCULATION

HEAD OF NEWSTRADE Tim Mathers

PRODUCTION

HEAD OF PRODUCTION Mark Constance PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGER Clare Scott SENIOR AD PRODUCTION MANAGER Jo Crosby DIGITAL EDITIONS CONTROLLER Jason Hudson PRODUCTION MANAGER Vivienne Turner

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JINXX FROM BLACK VEIL BRIDES

BY LEIGHANNE YEARGAIN

BOB DYLAN BY GARY GREEN

DEFENDERS of the Faith

Miles Strand

AGE: 32 HOMETOWN: Spring Valley, NY GUITARS: Schecter C-1 FR LH, Ibanez RG 470, Schecter Hellraiser C-8 Special LH, Fender Telecaster SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Polyphia “Look But Don’t Touch,” Yngwie Malmsteen “Overture 1622,” Jimmy Eat World “All the Way (Stay),” Our Fears “Alone I Stand” GEAR I WANT MOST: Ibanez Tim Henson Signature, Mesa/Boogie Fillmore

Michael McDonald

AGE: Baby Boomer 101!

HOMETOWN: Buffalo, NY GUITARS: Fender Telecaster, Stratocaster, Epiphone, Randy Jackson’s Special, Yamaha SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Curtis Mayfield “Pusherman,” Eric Clapton “Cocaine,” Santana “Oye Como Ya,” The Verve “Bittersweet Symphony,” the Ohio Players “Love Rollercoaster” GEAR I WANT MOST: Midway HeavyDuty USA guitar cases; Fender American Professional; Fender American Rhodes Telecaster

Steven Vannucci

AGE: 65 HOMETOWN: Springfield, MA GUITARS: Epiphones, Fenders, Ibanezes and Ovations SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Led Zeppelin “Ten Years Gone,” the Allman Brothers Band “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” — and a whole lot of shredding attempts GEAR I WANT MOST: My old 100-watt Marshall stack and SG Custom from 1970

Are you a Defender of the Faith? Send a photo, along with your answers to the questions above, to GWSoundingBoard@futurenet.com. And pray!

guitarworld.com

16

TUNE-UPS CRYPTA

20

21

ZACH PERSON

TAMAR APHEK

AS EVERYTHING DON'TPANIC! UNFOLDS

22 24

25

26

NEW NOISE

John Petrucci in 2018 with his signature Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty

Liquid Tension Experiment SILENCING YEARS' WORTH OF REQUESTS, JOHN PETRUCCI & CO. UNLEASH THE FIRST LTE ALBUM IN MORE THAN TWO DECADES

By Amit Sharma

IF THERE WERE an award for the most

E R U T U F / S I T R U C YL L O

active guitar player over the past year or so, it might just belong to Dream Theater virtuoso John Petrucci. His second solo album (Terminal Velocity) arrived in 2020, some 15 years after his debut, and now he’s ready to unveil the third Liquid Tension Experiment album (Liquid Tension Experiment 3), which arrives 22 years after its predecessor and features Tony Levin, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess and, of course,

Petrucci. Clearly, good things come to those who wait.

You’ve definitely been keeping busy during the lockdown.

Getting my solo album and the new LTE done silences 10 years’ worth of requests asking me to do them. I finally did those two things! [Laughs] But one aspect that hasn’t changed is the gear. I’m working on the new Dream Theater album right now, and it’s

the exact same setup. It’s my Purple Nebula Majesty by Music Man, plus my Majesty seven-string, through my JP-2C Boogie. I plug in and it just sounds the way I want it to sound. There’s no searching, it’s right there.

All of us guitar players are looking to find that feel and that sound, from every tiny little detail like the fret height on your guitar to the gain setting on your amp. It all means something. So when you are fortunate to have developed gear through Ernie Ball guitarworld.com

19

NEWS + NOTES

N E R E D N I S N AV E E M S E : AT P Y R C N I V E L Y N O T : ETL

tradition with the first LTE albums where the listener presses Play and the horse is out of the gate. Here we go! So we wanted to select something with a fast tempo that we’d all play in unison to get that locomotive effect. That was the goal. There’s this palm-muted open-string bouncy riff, and then we took it from there. The key and the secret to that being impactful is that everybody had to play it together. I’ve learned that’s how to get the most mileage out of something, giving it that overwhelming impact. It’s the same in classical music; you can create a lot of drama really quickly. [from left] Jordan Rudess, “One of the And then the slower secTony Levin, Mike Portnoy and Petrucci tions later on ended up being things I've lot of fun too. This is instrubecome adept amental music, and just like Music Man, Mesa, Dunlop at and conscious my solo album, the listening had to be interand DiMarzio, why would of is the shape experience esting. So it’s important to you use anything else? of the notes” break things up. If this opening song was just shred “Key to the Imagination” the whole way through, it has some really interwould lose impact. You need esting combinations of moments where the groove becomes the Phrygian dominant and diminished runs.

There are so many different things you can focus, or the chord progression is the focus. do with a looping Phrygian dominant back- That’s what keeps the song moving and pushing along. I love that slower metallic ing track — going from harmonic minor sound… it feels heavy, dark and grooving! to not just diminished arpeggios, but also whole-half scales, chromatic stuff. There’s a lot of freedom to weave in and out of How does a player at your level continue things, even pentatonic and blues. It really to grow and evolve? opens up so many different ideas. You’re One of the things I feel I’ve become adept at not just confined to one specific scale. I like and conscious of is the shape of notes. Some to do that a lot — use notes that are more listeners will notice, maybe not all of them, outside to get a more Hungarian or Egypthat there’s a lot of melodic guitar playing tian sound and play with the chromatics in my instrumental work because there’s around each side of the notes that are in it. no vocals. I’m really conscious of the way I pick or attack a certain note or whether it sustains in a certain way or how I slide “Liquid Evolution,” on the other hand, into it. There might be a certain tone comhas some really interesting swells and ing from where my pick hits the string. Or violining, including some more straightsomething particular about the vibrato I forward ideas in B minor. chose to use. All of those decisions are made We did four big jams to start off these sessions; this is one of the parts that had a real very deliberately. It’s like someone talkvibe. So I went back in and improvised over ing or singing; there’s not this monotone that, which is what you’re hearing. My first approach... instead it’s more layered. I’ve become more focussed on that and worked instinct was to creep in with those volume swells and clean guitars before build- at getting better on the whole expressive side. I guess it comes down to the nature ing into a more melodic solo. So that’s one of instrumental music and the fact that it’s of the moments on the record that is truly the guitar that has to carry those sections improvised. In that type of circumstance, through my choice of melodies. It’s really I’m really thinking [of] melody. That’s the hat I put on. Choosing the right swells and funny to me how in all these projects, even though I’m the same person, they all sound key notes, like those heart-tugging ninths different to me. My solo album sounds like and 11ths within the framework of both my solo album, LTE sounds like LTE, and pentatonic and modal patterns. when you hear the new Dream Theater, it The opening track, “Hypersonic,” sets will definitely sound like that band. It’s fun to weave in and out of different things. It the tone for the record, moving from blistering speeds to half-time grooves. happens very organically and naturally…

It was kind of an assignment — we started a it’s a trip!

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

WHAT'S ON MY

PLAYLIST TAINÁ BERGAMASCHI & SONIA ANUBIS OF CRYPTA 1

“Dawn of the Angry” Morbid Angel Sonia [right]: This is the first death metal song I ever heard, and I was directly hooked on Morbid Angel. The tremolo picking harmonizations are amazing and made me appreciate this technique.

2

“At the Left Hand ov God” Behemoth Sonia: I’m a sucker for octave riffs on guitar, Middle Eastern-sounding melodies and death metal. This song has it all. There is something very mystical about it, and the slower riff with a pinch harmonic on top of a triplet double bass is my soft spot.

3

“Shadowfear” Vader Tainá [left]: The riffs at the beginning are very inspiring, something that really touched me [the first time I heard it]. Also there’s that last solo, which somehow tells something between the melodies.

4

“Trapped in a Corner’’ Death Tainá: The balance, the brutality and the daring melodies are the result of the genius of Chuck Schuldiner and a reflection of the perfect combination with Andy LaRocque’s work. Best album!

5

“(A Departure of the Sun) Ignite the Tesla Coil’’ Decrepit Birth Sonia: This is a melodic masterpiece — how classical music sounds when it's death-metalized. Neoclassical technical death on steroids at its prime!

Tainá: Everything is intense, from those classical notes, the acoustic ones, until the end. Six minutes of a true masterpiece!

CRYPTA’S DEBUT ALBUM, ECHOES OF THE SOUL, IS OUT JUNE 11 VIA NAPALM RECORDS.

NEWS + NOTES

Zach Person in action: “My hope is that I can expose the blues to a new audience and a new generation of listeners”

Zach Person

HOW A JAW-DROPPING GARY CLARK JR. COVER ON AMERICAN IDOL LED TO TO SHARING A STAGE WITH BUDDY GUY, SHARING BILLS WITH FOO FIGHTERS — AND RELEASING A MULTI-FACETED DEBUT ALBUM

By Brad Angle

Fighters, Anderson .Paak and more. Person’s most recent triumph is the release of his selftitled full-length debut — a solid collection of blues-based jams infused with rich electronic textures and indie-rock attitude.

“I consider myself a bluesman, of sorts, that’s always going to be at the core…,” says the musician, who cites Stevie Ray Vaughan

AXOLOGY • GUITARS 2019 Fender Jazzmaster HH, 1989 Gibson Explorer, 2019 Gibson Les Paul Special Double Cut, 1957 Gibson LG1/ LG2 “Conversion” • AMPS Milkman The Amp 100, 2x12 Vertical Marshall Cab • EFFECTS Strymon El Capistan Delay, J. Rockett The Dude Overdrive, T.C. Electronic Vibraclone Rotary Pedal, T Rex Effects The Quint Octaver • STRINGS Ernie Ball Slinky Electric Strings (1046), Ernie Ball Medium Light Earthwood Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Strings (1254) • ACCESSORIES Dunlop Primetone .88 pick, Keyser Capos, brass slide, Shure 55SH mic, Mogami cables

and B.B. King among his influences. “[But] I like to pull aspects of all the music I love: fat 808 drumbeats of hip-hop… timelessness of Americana and country… complex chords of neo-soul.”

Person’s musical open-mindedness is apparent throughout the 12-song album, as the guitarist and his bandmate, drummer Jake Wyble, unleash gritty slide jams (“Can’t Stop Running”), soulful fingerpicked compositions (“Wanna Fly”), foot-stomping bops (“Carolina”), indie-electronic moments and fierce soloing (“Send Me Away”) and one grooving, fuzzed-out reworking of Elvis’ “All Shook Up.” Person has come a long way since he picked up that First Act. His gear, naturally, has evolved — his current favorite axes are a 1989 Gibson Explorer and 2019 Fender Jazzmaster HH — and his creative ambitions continue to expand. Next up? Hitting the road when COVID restrictions lift. “My hope is that I can expose the blues to a new audience and a new generation of listeners,” Person says. “Modernize it… but keep its spirit.” guitarworld.com

21

TSRUD REHPOTSIRHC

ZACH PERSON’S GUITAR journey was born out of one of the worst situations imaginable: the tragic death of his father.

“My dad was a prison guard in Maryland’s Jessup House of Corrections,” says Person, explaining that while on the job his father was attacked and killed by inmates who were into “shady stuff.” Person was 9 at the time.

Thankfully he had a loving mother who “wanted to make sure I was able to channel all that and stay busy,” says the now-24-yearold musician from his home in Austin. Person expressed a desire to learn guitar, so his mom bought him a First Act starter model “with a little battery-powered speaker in it.” That instrument didn’t just help Person process his grief, it also started the young player down a road that would lead to some truly uplifting, and life-altering, experiences.

In 2016, after years of woodshedding and playing in teenage bands, the guitarist/ singer auditioned for American Idol, where he wowed judges Keith Urban, Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez with his take on Gary Clark Jr.’s “Next Door Neighbor Blues.” The following year he played onstage with Buddy Guy (“I’m thinking, don’t blow this!”) and later appeared on high-profile bills with Foo

“I consider myself a bluesman… [but] I like to pull aspects of the fat 808 drumbeats of hiphop…, timelessness of Americana and country…, complex chords of neo-soul”

NEWS + NOTES Tamar Aphek  with a Fender Jaguar  at the Hotel Bobo in Tel-Aviv

Tamar Aphek

HOW A FORMER CONCERT PIANIST WAS LURED INTO ROCK — AND GUITARDOM — BY THE SIREN CALL OF DISTORTION

By Jon Wiederhorn

LAGES IDA

HAVING TRAINED AS a concert pianist in Tel Aviv, Israel, from an early age, Tamar Aphek wasn’t exposed to rock music until she was 18. Then, when she put her career on hold to begin mandatory service in the army, she experienced an epiphany. While visiting a hip, local bar, she heard Radiohead for the first time. Impressed by the band’s experimental, multifaceted style, Aphek began a quest to learn more about the music she had previously avoided and was enthralled by the raw guitar sounds of Sonic Youth, the Jesus Lizard and the Stooges.

“The first thing that captivated me about rock was all the kinds of distorted sounds you can get on a guitar,” Aphek says from her home in Haifa. “It was this big revelation. The distortion of Fugazi, Nirvana and Pantera, for example, are all completely different, and they all add their own elements to the music.”

Aphek scrambled to record stores and turned to friends for recommendations. She studied the nuances of classic rock, psychedelia, punk, metal, Nineties alternative, indie rock, blues, jazz, electronic music and hip-hop. And she compared her favorite artists from different genres to determine how each used dissonance, dynamics and rhythmic variation to build and release tension and create presence.

Then she started playing guitar and formed the rock duos Carusella and Shoshana before becoming a solo artist. In 2014, she released the EP Collision; two years later she scored the award-winning film One Week and a Day. With a wealth of experience to draw from,

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

“The distortion of Fugazi, Nirvana and Pantera, for example, are all completely different, and they all add their own elements to the music” Aphek began writing her debut full-length, All Bets Are Off, a sonically diverse mélange of dusky music noir, freeform experimentalism and dissonant grit. Instead of adhering to her previous work ethic, she kept herself open to new avenues.

“I used to write guitar riffs and build songs about them,” she says. “But for this album I felt it was really important to improvise with the musicians I played with, which makes the songs more alive.”

Some critics have called Aphek’s music

jazz ’n’ roll because of the spontaneoussounding arrangements, angular bass and skittery beats. Yet she feels more comfortable simply being considered a rock musician. “I’d say everything I do has a rock ’n’ roll essence to it,” she says. “It doesn’t sound like Led Zeppelin or anything, but there’s an attitude there that drives me to always search for new ways to do things. In classical, everything is so restrained and pure. Rock gives me this freedom to try anything.”

AXOLOGY • GUITARS Fender Jaguar, Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul • AMPS Marshall Super Bass, Fender Twin Reverb • EFFECTS OKKO Dominator, Catalinbread Topanga Spring Reverb, Boss OC-3 Super Octave

NEWS + NOTES As Everything Unfolds guitarist Adam Kerr with his current favorite, a Charvel DK24

As Everything Unfolds

RISING UK METALLERS GO FOR GLORY ON THEIR STUNNING DEBUT ALBUM, WITHIN EACH LIES THE OTHER

By Amit Sharma

COULD AS EVERYTHING Unfolds end up becoming the breakout band of 2021?

It seems likely, given the early reaction to the UK post-hardcore sextet’s riff-laden debut.

Tracks like “On the Inside” and “Stranger in the Mirror” could very well be anthems in the making, seamlessly splicing metal and electronic sounds with some brilliant usage of pitch-shifting effects. Here Adam Kerr, who shares duties with co-guitarist Owen Hill, walks us through exactly what we’re hearing.

OTOHP HDLX

Which guitars and amps did you end up using for the recordings?

All the driven tones came from an amp that needs no introduction, the iconic Peavey 6505! As for the clean stuff, we used a Friedman Pink Taco, which I can say — without a shadow of doubt — has some of the most beautiful tones I’ve ever heard. The six-string rhythms were recorded with my Jackson DK2, which, thanks to the alder body and

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

Seymour Duncans, sounds modern without becoming “djenty.” The seven-string rhythms were with my Jackson Misha Mansoor HT7.

For the leads I used my current favorite, a Charvel DK24 with Seymour Duncans and the most unbelievable caramelized 24-fret maple neck.

How about pedals? It feels like there’s a lot of octave stuff at points.

Oh yeah, I’m absolutely in love with the octaver sound. The Digitech Drop has been a staple since I bought it, and we must’ve used it on at least half of the record. I love how it adds this Mick Gordon Doom soundtrack kind of flavor, both in the 50/50 mix setting and the full wet octave down setting. There was also the Electro-Harmonix Canyon, which I’d never heard before, but it sounded unbelievable, adding that sense of depth you didn’t realize you were missing. And then there was a Tube Screamer for extra drive and a Vox wah,

which I’ve since become hooked on using.

What’s the secret to the AEU school of riffing?

I think the key to a good riff is knowing the most important elements of what you’re doing, and making sure the rest of the instrumentation capitalizes on it, or at least doesn’t cover it up. It has to build nicely. You can have the heaviest riff in the world, but if the listener hears nothing but palm-muted chugs leading up to it, your riff might not hit like it needs to.

Which guitarists influenced you most as a songwriter — and tonally?

There’s probably an overwhelming amount of players that are subconscious influences from over the years. But the main ones I always find myself always being inspired by are John Petrucci, Intervals’ Aaron Marshall and Misha [Mansoor] from Periphery.

NEWS + NOTES For the accompanying video, visit GuitarWorld.com/August2021 The ProCo Panic Button is a foot-operated “A-B box” output switcher

Don’t Panic!

JIMMY BROWN EXPLAINS HOW TO USE THE PROCO PANIC BUTTON TO BOOST YOUR GUITAR VOLUME THROUGH A PA SYSTEM

By Jimmy Brown

FELLOW WEEKEND-WARRIOR

It’s like having an audio engineer, one who is thoroughly familiar with your repertoire and is always paying attention, reliably turn up your guitar in the PA for every solo and add some studio-quality time-based effects too, then instantly switch them off and turn you back down to a “rhythm guitar” volume level when you’re done soloing.

This setup is great for bands that play in clubs and rely on an unfamiliar sound engineer

“It’s like having an audio engineer turn up your guitar in the PA for every solo and add some studioquality time-based effects” to run the “house PA system” for their set, and also for someone who, like me, runs their own sound system from the stage, and prefers to use a small, low-wattage, single-channel tube amp and have it maxed-out on volume, to the peak of its headroom, in order to get that vintage, classic-rock overdrive and power-tube compression at a reasonable stage volume.

The only drawback to this amp setup is

that you can’t get any louder for solos, no matter what boost or overdrive pedal you use. The only other solutions are to either use a different, two-channel amp or a regular, high-impedance musical instrument A-B box (with ¼-inch connectors) to switch to a second, louder amp for solos, and mic-up that amp too. But now you’re either using an amp that may not be your first choice for tone or hauling and setting up two amps and mics for every gig, which is cumbersome and tedious.

By instead using the Panic Button, you can continue to enjoy using your favorite little tube amp onstage and be able to “kick it up a notch” through the PA — say, by 6 to 10 decibels — by simply stepping on a footswitch that instantly reroutes the amp’s microphone signal to an alternate channel on the mixing board. To do this, you would, of course, need an extra mic input and channel available on the mixer and two additional XLR cables. (I use a QSC TouchMix 16 digital touchscreen mixer, which I operate onstage.)

Even if you do have an audio engineer, it’s still great to be self-reliant for this important periodic adjustment. And you can boost the sound of your guitar, be it clean or dirty, without changing the tone or behavior of the amp, in terms of the amount of headroom and tube compression and saturation that you prefer.

You’re just making it louder through the PA, and optionally adding some post-amp effects, in mono or stereo. guitarworld.com

25

OCORP

performers and small tube amp devotees: I’d like to share a novel, “off-label” application of an existing product that gives you the capability to boost the sound of your guitar, for solos, through a PA (public address) system, without the assistance of a “sound man” (live audio engineer). The product is the Panic Button, made by ProCo, the same company that gave us the legendary Rat distortion pedal.

The Panic Button is a foot-operated “A-B box” output switcher, originally designed for a vocal microphone used on a live stage, with balanced, low-impedance XLR connections.

By stepping on its button, a performer can mute the sound from his or her microphone going out to the audience through the main front-of-house (FOH) speakers and switch it to an alternate signal path that’s re-routed, via the mixing board, only to the stage monitors, headphones and/or earbuds worn by fellow musicians and the sound crew, enabling the performer to use the mic to privately communicate urgent messages.

My repurposing of the Panic Button is to use it with the mic that’s placed in front of my small Fender Pro Junior tube amplifier onstage, to switch the mic’s signal to an alternate, boosted channel in the mixer that’s set louder and has more delay and reverb, plus an alternate EQ setting, to get that epic “Comfortably Numb” lead tone for solos.

NEW NOISE!

New Music, Anyone?

THIS MONTH: REIMAGINED COUNTRY BLUES FROM THE BLACK KEYS, PLUS NEW TUNEAGE FROM BELLA THORNE (WITH MALINA MOYE), PAUL GILBERT, SCOTT McKEON AND MORE...

By Amit Sharma

[left] The Black Keys' Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach perform in 2020; [right] Malina Moye

Z TL U H S A U H S O J : T H G I R A I D E M T R A E H I R O F C I G A M M L I F / Z T I VA R K F F E J : T F E L

The Black Keys Bella Thorne “Crawling (featuring Kingsnake” Malina Moye) “Phantom”

Paul Gilbert Scott McKeon “A Thunderous “Zapruder” Ovation Shook the Columns”

Cory Wong (featuring Cody Fry) “Coming Back Around”

THE BLACK KEYS covering John Lee Hooker was always going to be a winner. There’s a warmth to Dan Auerbach’s tones that’s suited to classics like this — which is perhaps why the Ohio duo’s latest album, Delta Kream, features only Mississippi Hill Country blues reworks.

“Crawling Kingsnake” feels like the most fun the pair have had in years, the sullen vocals taking a backseat to the overdriven leads and howling slides, which ring loud and proud over the course of six glorious minutes. It’s the kind of song you could accidentally listen to for hours — the same G minor shuffle trucking along without any danger of overstaying its welcome.

For more, see page 38.

THOUGH WE ALL came to know him for his terrifying string skips, eye-watering alternate picking and that time he incorporated a Makita drill into one of his Mr. Big solos, Paul Gilbert’s more recent instrumentals have seen him employing a less busy approach on the six-string. This second single from Werewolves of Portland is exquisitely tasteful, striving for Seventies rock-inspired lines in place of neo classical shred. Among its highlights, there are some big bluesy bends in B, a handful of speedy legato bursts and whammy bar work that’s guaranteed to put a smile on any guitar player’s face. No matter what he’s doing, Paul Gilbert will always be in a class of his own.

AS ONE OF the modern masters of punchy single-note lines and playing “in the pocket,” we’ve grown to expect great things from Cory Wong. His first release of the year sees him team up with Nashville singer-songwriter Cody Fry for the opening episode of his new YouTube variety show, brilliantly named Cory and the Wongnotes.

The solo, played by Fry on his Tele, involves some tasteful bends and rapid-fire pentatonics while Wong holds down the groove on his Jazz Bass — and it’s the potency of the infectious hooks, syncopated rhythms and ceremonious horns that makes this offering feel like pretty much the most perfect pop song imaginable.

26

THERE’S A BROODING intensity to actor-singer-model Bella Thorne’s latest single, which blurs the lines between gritty hip-hop and mercurial blues in ways few would’ve expected. The fiery fretwork comes courtesy of Malina Moye, who adds to the dark atmospheres by splicing in two-handed tapping licks and powerful E minor pentatonics against the electronic kits and synth bass. “I wanted more feel and screaming on the notes, like the tasteful shredding Santana brought to ‘Mamacita,’” Moye told us, after explaining it’s one of her favorite keys to solo in. It’s the juxtaposition of it all that makes for a brilliantly unsettling yet seductive listen.

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

THIS ENGLISH GUITARIST is notable for many reasons — he appeared in a Fender ad in 1994 when he was 8, he’s since graced stages with the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Derek Trucks as a solo artist and he’s been playing in Sir Tom Jones’ band for the last six years.

Oh, and he also makes his own SM Fuzz pedals, which have been used by Gary Clark Jr. and Doyle Bramhall II. This smoky jam from latest album New Morning sees him dialing in some stellar vintage tones, feeding a Terry Morgan 1959 Les Paul replica into a Two Rock Classic Reverb, a ’64 Fender Vibroverb and a Fifties Gibson Les Paul Junior — with his earthy SM Fuzz engaged, of course, for the solos.

Marty Friedman with his signature Pro Series Jackson MF-1 in Purple Mirror — “The guitar is just plain stunning and looks different in every single lighting situation”

“IT’S PROBABLY BRIAN MAY’S INFLUENCE. I TRY TO MULTI-TRACK EVERYTHING ON BACKGROUNDS, BUT I DON’T DO THE SAME WITH THE MAIN SOLOS”

BEAST FROM THE EAST AUGUST ’21

ON THE GOOSEBUMPS-INDUCING TOKYO JUKEBOX 3, SHRED GREAT MARTY FRIEDMAN TACKLES THE JAPANESE POP CHARTS: “IT’S PRETTY MUCH STRAIGHT-UP J-POP THAT I PUT ON STEROIDS”

BY JOE BOSSO

W

PHOTOS BY SUSUMU MIYAWAKI

GW 29

HILE MOST MUSICIANS’ TOUR plans are still sidelined by COVID-19, Marty Friedman happily reports that he’s already played live dates — in Japan.

“Gigs are happening here, and for a lot of people that’s a great thing,” says the guitarist, a Tokyo resident since 2003. However, he’s quick to point out that, for the time being, concerts in his adopted homeland have been a far cry from what he’s used to. “There are very strict guidelines everybody has to follow. We can’t go beyond 50 percent capacity at any venue, and the other restriction is, artists can’t use their voices on stage. So there’s no singing.”

Which, of course, isn’t a big deal for Friedman, whose setlists, as usual, have been comprised of instrumentals.

“Yeah, I’m fortunate in that regard,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong — touring now requires 10 times the effort to achieve half the results, but if that’s what it takes to play, that’s what I’ll do. Everybody needs music. I mean, sure, there are other priorities in life, but music is really important. They need something that makes them happy, now more than ever. If I have the chance to play, I’m there.”

Friedman’s dates in Japan have been his first live shows since 2019. For much of 2020, he was recording Tokyo Jukebox 3, the third album in a series he began with Tokyo Jukebox in 2009 and continued with — you guessed it — Tokyo Jukebox 2 in 2011. The new record finds the guitarist putting a crunching, metallic spin on his favorite hits from the Japanese pop charts. “If I can say anything positive about the past year, it’s that I was pretty much forced to work on this record — there was very little else I could do,” he says. “It was great to work without all the usual distractions. I don’t

usually get so much time to focus on just one album.”

On Tokyo Jukebox 3, Friedman blitzes his way through instrumental versions of tracks such as “Gurenge” (a big hit for LiSA) and “Skukumei” (originally made famous by Official Hige Dandism) as well as other contemporary J-pop selections. The only exceptions are “The Perfect World,” a reworking of the guitarist’s own 2018 composition that now features vocals by the popular Japanese singer Alfakyun, and “Japan Heritage Theme Song,” which Friedman wrote and then recorded with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Those are the only two songs that don’t fit the rest of the format,” says Friedman, “although I guess you could call ‘The Perfect World’ a self-cover. Everything else is me doing instrumentals of Japanese vocal songs. The guitar is a new element on these tracks, so that was fun for me. It’s pretty much straight-up J-pop that I put on steroids and made really heavy and emotional. I wanted to bring up the goosebumps and tear-jerking elements using the guitar.

That was the big challenge.”

When recording covers, did you feel as if you were halfway home? You were starting with proven material.

Sure. That’s a total double-edged sword, though, especially with songs I really love. They don’t need anybody messing with them. But yeah, you’re already starting with something great. Some songs I know I can’t do anything with; they’re so perfect that I can’t make them my own. I don’t even deal with them. But when I have a song I know I want to cover, I start to do prep. There’s a lot of prep with these things.

What kind of prep?

It’s all stuff I have to do beforehand. In Japan, I have to get

permission from the publisher to record my version, so I’ll work out an arrangement and record a demo, and that’s what I submit for clearance.

The only issue with that is, once permission is granted, I have to follow through; it would be rude to make these people work and get their OK only for me to say, “I’ve changed my mind.”

And I have to stay true to the version I sent them. So considering all that, I make extensive demos. That way, I know I’m going to like it, and it’s gonna kick ass.

What you’re describing is different from how publishing works in other territories.

This is how it is for a major-label situation in Japan. If you’re doing something on indies where it’s going to fly under the radar, you could probably do whatever you want. People wouldn’t notice. But in my case, my label is Avex here in Japan, and I’m dealing with Japanese songs. Not only do you need the permission of the publisher, but you need the permission of the person who wrote the song to actually release it and put it out.

On my first Tokyo Jukebox album, there was one artist called Mr. Children who’s notorious for not allowing anyone to cover their stuff. But I loved this song called “Gift,” and I just said, “What the hell? I’m going to do my cover.” If they hated it, so be it — I tried. But they loved it and gave me the OK. That was pretty cool.

To many people, these will sound like new songs. You have a lot of leeway there; nobody will say, “Oh, he screwed this stuff up.”

That’s an excellent point. There’s two meanings to that: One is that, for a lot of people, I’m introducing my interpretation of these songs, but it sounds like my music. I mean, it basically is my music. You could put this new album next to other records I’ve done, and you’re going to know it’s the same artist. The only difference is that I’m covering very wellknown Japanese songs. It’s great because I love these songs so much, and I really like the idea of opening up the wonderful world of this music to people outside of Japan. To some people, if they’ve heard the originals, they might go, “What the hell is this? It’s overload. It’s too crazy.” I get it. But now you have two ways to enjoy these songs. You can hear my versions, and you can seek out the originals. I hear that from a lot of people: They were exposed to my version first, but then they write to me: “I found the original, and I love it, too!”

You concentrate on J-pop. Are you a fan of K-pop bands like BTS?

I’m very familiar, but that’s a completely different genre from J-pop. Melodically, K-pop doesn’t do much for me. It’s very dance oriented. To my ears, it sounds derivative of other music, whereas J-pop is an island unto itself; nothing else really sounds like it.

How much do you listen to American rock? Are there any bands from the States that have had

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

“NEW PHRASES AND MOTIFS, NEW MUSICAL SENTENCES AND EXPRESSIONS — IT’S NEVERENDING, AND IT WILL NEVER BE MASTERED

BY ME OR ANYONE”

an impact on you lately?

I like Deafheaven. I’m sure there are some other cool things coming from the States, but they’re kind of escaping me right now. Oh, I did see this cool band… Starbenders. They’re pretty cool.

I understand that in making this album you decided to remove reverb and delays from your guitar tracks. How did that affect your playing?

I removed reverb and delay for a lot of parts, but not for the entire record. It did affect my playing, though. I had to be more exact. What I found was, when I did that, there was an impact — an urgency or tightness — to certain lines. It was more aggressive. Even if it was something I did record with delay, when it was mixed down I would try different interpretations, and I found that by taking the effects off, things sparkled more — they hit you in the face harder. I’ve been trying to play that way more.

When I play something with a dryer sound, it can be more effective; the way phrases end sound sharper and brasher.

“Senbonzakura” exemplifies your rhythm sound; it’s very harmonized. Do you do a lot of multi-tracking?

with an orchestra. Is that as difficult as it sounds?

That song came about because I’m an ambassador of Japanese heritage here in Japan, appointed by the government. They asked me to create a Japan heritage theme song to be played at government events. It was a real honor, but it was also a huge responsibility.

Government people had to OK it; they came to the studio to listen to what I was doing. I wrote music that reflected day-to-day Japanese life, not the type of music a foreigner would typically consider. I wanted to really capture the music of today’s Japanese people — and yesterday’s Japanese people — and I wrote the entire thing for an orchestra. I had an orchestral arranger to separate the parts because the layout of an orchestra is very important, so it was great to have somebody who is versed in doing that.

“U.S.A.” is a lot of fun. What was it like originally? Was it a Japanese tribute to the States?

That song is hilarious. I think it was written by an Italian artist, and it became a viral hit in Japan by a group called the Da Pump. They had me come on TV and play it with them. It’s a disco song, but I thought, “I could do a fullon rock version of this thing.” I thought it was ironic, me being an American in Japan playing a song called “U.S.A.” with a Japanese group.

Absolutely. There’s a lot of multi-tracking on backgrounds, especially on that song. I’ve always been big on that approach, ever since I was a kid. It’s probably Brian May’s influence.

I try to multi-track everything on backgrounds, Is it safe to assume you used your Jackson sigbut I don’t do the same with the main solos.

Why, you ask? nature models on the record?

That’s it, really. There were a few parts where Well, I was about to…

I used a Strat-type guitar, but it was mostly my [Laughs] I mean, you don’t want to harmonize Jackson signatures and a couple of Jackson Pavarotti, unless you’re in the Three Tenors. signature prototypes.

You’ve got a picture frame, and if you can make Last question: What do you feel you need to that frame really gorgeous and ornate, whatever you put inside it is going to look that much work on as a player? Anything you can pinpoint? better. So I spend about 80 percent of my time I work on everything all the time. If you’ve folon the arrangement of the music that’s going lowed my career, you’ll know I’ve evolved as to be played under my solos and melodies. If a player. I’m constantly renewing myself and I have that beautiful frame, the notes I play working on my game. New phrases and motifs, inside it are going to really come through. new musical sentences and expressions — it’s never-ending, and it will never be mastered by You recorded “Japan Heritage Theme Song” me or anyone.

Guitar World • August 2021 • Blues Power

10 PEDALS that will help you channel the blues gods and bring your very best pentatonic licks to life

By Amit Sharma

IBANEZ TS808HWB HAND-WIRED TUBE SCREAMER $379, ibanez.com

It’s no secret that Stevie Ray Vaughan used various Tube Screamers over his career, from the TS808 original that was launched in the late Seventies to the TS9 and TS10 models that arrived the following decade. And while you can’t really go wrong with any of the models still in production, such as the four-mode TS9DX or the pedalboard-friendly mini, it’s this hand-wired reissue of the classic 808 that will most likely get you closest to SRV’s game-changing tones. Being the most expensive Tube Screamer Ibanez has ever made, it’s worth noting there is no circuit board — instead its parts are hand-soldered onto a strip board like the fuzz pedals of old. The TS808HWB is also true bypass and uses the same JRC4558D chip as the smoother- and warmer-sounding originals, wired with highquality Mogami OFC cables. All in all, whether you’re using it as a rich-sounding boost or thrillingly musical overdrive, this is as deluxe as a Tube Screamer can get.

A

AS MUCH AS we love the sound of a vintage guitar going direct into a handwired tube amp, there’s something magical about placing an overdrive pedal in the middle of that chain for a bit of extra push. The good news is the selection of available stompboxes has never been greater than it is at this moment — each with its own unique twist on how it can spice up your riffs and leads.

The most popular circuit of them all would be that of the soft-clipping Tube Screamer, which has been copied and cloned countless times, and — despite being deeply rooted in the blues — has also been adopted by players from pretty much every genre, including higher-gain metal maniacs. When it comes to blues, however, less is more — and you’ll probably notice that an overwhelming majority of players actually have very little gain dialed in on their pedals, instead using them more as a low-gain boost to help those leads jump out and cut through. Some overdrives will reshape your EQ in order to facilitate this, often tightening the lows and boosting the higher mids, while others are known for being “natural” or “transparent,” simply giving you more of the tone you already have.

Each player will have his or her own preferences; some might want to stick to the classic three-knob designs, while others might prefer units with an abundance of modes, dials and switches. In this list, we look at 10 of our favorite overdrives for blues — from the most simple and affordable to the absolute top-of-the-line boutique options available today.

VEMURAM JAN RAY

$75, vemuram.com

With endorsees such as Josh Smith, Kirk Fletcher, Wayne Krantz and Richie Sambora, Vemuram has become one of the most admired boutique pedal producers of the modern age. Their most popular offering, the Jan Ray, is their take on the famous “Fender Magic 6” sound, recreating the punch and clarity of Fender’s Blackface amps of the Sixties.

Unlike Tube Screamer-style overdrives, the Jan Ray doesn’t overly color or compress your sound, instead pushing the front end of your amp for more sustain and boost across the entire sonic spectrum, rather than emphasizing the mids. As well as controls for Volume, Gain, Bass and Treble, there’s also a saturation trimmer knob at the top, allowing users to fine-tune their gain range and stay in control of how the pedal reacts in between a guitar and an amp. And don’t even get us started on that vintage-style brass casing.

aur has become one of the

instead using them more as a low-gain boost to help those leads cut through.

s. Earlier this year, JHS owner entaur — the first to ever old by developer Bill Finnegan s. Though it e of a publicity stunt than a s not uncommon for originals to 5,000, which is pretty mind-bloww much they cost to produce. or those of us wanting that worldansparent overdrive at a fraction of the ctro-Harmonix has you covered with their -popular Soul Food. Though it runs on 9v — as ed to the high-headroom 18v of the Centaur — internally they’ve included boosted power rails to bring more definition and response. There are also options to run in true bypass or buffered bypass modes, which is handy, but in all honesty what impresses us most is just how much tone you get for such little money.

guitarworld.com

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Guitar World • August 2021 • Blues Power

BOSS BD-2W BLUES DRIVER WAZA CRAFT $164, bossus.com

The Boss Blues Driver could very well be one of the most underrated overdrives of all time. Unlike soft-clipping favorites like the Tube Screamer or Marshall BluesBreaker or hard-clipping pedals such as the Centaur, it’s a transistor-based overdrive that runs without an op-amp, working internally more like a tube amp than your typical overdrive. And for this reason alone, the Blues Driver is an incredibly responsive pedal, allowing you to control how much the signal breaks up by your pick attack — ultimately offering more touch dynamics to bring out the nuances in your playing, which is very handy for those bluesy bends. The classic BD-2 has been spotted on the ’boards of many a rock legend, including Prince, Andy Timmons and Johnny Hiland, and in 2014 the Waza Craft version took that famous drive to new heights, thanks to its all-discrete analog circuitry and a new Custom mode for more body and sustain.

NOBELS ODR-1

9, nobels.de

Commonly referred to as “the other green overdrive,” this highly affordable stompbox from German manufacturers Nobels has become surprisingly popular among Nashville session aces, as well as guitarists like Jerry Donahue from the Hellecasters and Supertramp legend Carl Verheyen. Where it differs from the Tube Screamer, however, is in the midrange — giving players a more natural and rounded crunch that keeps all the low-end frequencies without over-emphasizing the upper mids. That said, the latest version also includes a bass cut — which can really help cover more tonal ground when needed — and there’s also a mini-sized option for those struggling with space on the board.

Other than a digital plug-in, that’s the extent of the Nobels line. Clearly, they don’t do much, but what they do, they do very well indeed.

ANALOGMAN KING OF TONE $26, analogman.com

We’re not sure if overdrive pedals can get any more boutique than the appropriately named King of Tone. First of all, there’s a bit of a wait involved if you’re hoping to buy one — three years, to be precise — which certainly gives it one of the most fascinating supply-and-demand curves in the history of guitar products.

Built and designed by Mike Peira in Bethel, Connecticut, the two-stage overdrive is based around the topology of the 1991 Marshall Black Box Bluesbreaker, with some high-end mods and tweaks. Inside, there’s a four-position configuration DIP switch that allows you to choose different modes for each side, so it’s plenty versatile and can take you well beyond the blues, if required. Adopted by the likes of John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Samantha Fish, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Uli Jon Roth to name but a few, the purple pedal’s legend looks set to only grow and grow.

Earlier this year, JHS owner Josh Scott listed his Centaur on Reverb for half a million dollars.

Although it was a publicity stunt, it’s not uncommon for originals to sell for $5,000.

CERIATONE CENTURA $20, ceriatone.com

Welsh blues ace Chris Buck loves his “always-on” Centura so much, he once said it sounded better than the Bill Finnegan classic it’s so clearly inspired by. The recreation by Malaysian manufacturers Ceriatone is quite possibly the ultimate Klone of them all, built to the exact specs of the originals, in the same oversized housing and with options for matte and raw finishes in gold or silver, with or without the mythical man-horse graphic. But more importantly, it’s an incredibly musical overdrive — keep the gain down and you have the kind of boost pedal that will turn virtually any amp into a boutique hand-wired affair, but as you crank it to halfway and beyond, the tones feel more rounded and full-fat than pretty much any other overdrive out there. As well as an extensive amp line, the company also produces the Horse Breaker — a twin overdrive that features the Centaur circuit on one side and a BluesBreaker on the other — and is also set to release its own Horse Screamer later in the year. guitarworld.com

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Guitar World • August 2021 • Blues Power

MXR TIMMY

$129, jimdunlop.com

Collaborations between independent boutique builders and larger mass-market producers have become increasingly common in recent years — and the MXR Timmy, based on Paul Cochrane’s Tim and Timmy overdrives, could very well be the best of the bunch.

Launched last year as part of their Custom Shop range, this version rehouses the legendary opensounding and uncompressed drive into a more user-friendly mini enclosure, offering three different clipping modes for tonal shaping.

Considering how much more Cochrane’s hand-made units sell for — and how hard they are to find, his company having no website or online presence whatsoever — the MXR version succeeds in its quest to meet demand and expectation while also keeping costs relatively low.

From a consumer perspective, that’s a big win-win.

JHS BONSAI

ORIGIN EFFECTS REVIVAL DRIVE $229, jhspedals.info

What’s better than one Tube Screamer? Well, how about nine in one box? The Bonsai might not sit well with some purists because it offers so many of the famous twists on the Ibanez overdrive, but for those of us wanting to flick through the decades — and even explore famous mods such as Robert Keeley’s — this will certainly cover all the bases.

There’s even an option for the orange-colored 1977 Ibanez OD, which famously preceded the Tube Screamer range and worked more like a distortion than the green overdrive we all know and love.

Which is precisely why it’s the most multifaceted and all-encompassing TS-style overdrive out there. John Mayer was so impressed he posted a shot of the Bonsai on his Instagram, boldly declaring that “every household should have one” — which, to be fair, is the mother of all endorsements.

$565, origineffects.com

Some players might look at the Revival Drive and be put off by the sheer amount of control it offers. To be perfectly honest, it’s hard to think of any other overdrive pedals that go this in-depth — though, as we all know, there are definitely tonehounds out there who will appreciate the sonic versatility. In that sense, the Revival Drive works more like an amp than a pedal, with two channels covering American and British voicings, assignable mid-boosts, controls for the “ghost note” effect of cranking vintage gear and a high-impedance buffered bypass with silent switching. On their website, the British manufacturers describe the Revival Drive as “the last overdrive pedal you will ever need” and — provided you’re able to navigate its numerous switches and dials — that could very well be the case.

Hill Country Kream I

Kenny Brown [left] with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach

T’S ONE THING for an established rock band to make a back-to-basics album. But it’s quite another to go all the way back to the songbook and sidemen who inspired you in the first damn place. For their 10th studio release, Delta Kream [Nonesuch], the Black Keys did just that, hosting a Hill Country blues party in honor of their departed heroes R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, with help from musicians who performed with them on classic albums and throughout their heyday.

The whole affair was partly an act of serendipity — guitarist Kenny Brown and bassist Eric Deaton were both in Nashville to back Robert Finley on a session at Easy Eye Sound, Auerbach’s studio near Nashville’s Music Row, in December 2019. However, just three weeks removed from the Black Keys’ tour in support of their previous album, Let’s Rock, Auerbach caught a vibe with Brown and Deaton and soon they were digging into songs he hadn’t played in decades.

“It was just so much fun that I had to call Pat [Carney, drummer], and I said, ‘Man, you gotta come over here and I’ll see if these guys can stay an extra day and you can just play some songs.’

And that’s what he did,” Auerbach says. “He showed up the next morning; we just started playing for fun and we cut this record in a day.”

PAGE 38 X GUITAR WORLD X AUGUST 2021

Dan Auerbach goes to the source of Mississippi Hill Country blues and enlists guitarist Kenny Brown, R.L. Burnside’s right-hand man, for The Black Keys’ new collection of blues standards

By Jim Beaugez PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSHUA BLACK WILKINS

guitarworld.com

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“Somebody told me yesterday, ‘This reminds me of old Black Keys.’ I’m like, ‘No, it doesn’t, because we weren’t that good.’”

[above] The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney

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G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

IT’S HARD TO understate the impact Mississippi Hill Country blues had on Auerbach and Carney, and it’s fair to say the Black Keys wouldn’t exist without the songs on Delta Kream. The music of Burnside, Kimbrough and Fred McDowell was the flashpoint for the grimy Rust Belt blues the duo recorded on early releases The Big Come Up [Alive, 2002] and Thickfreakness [Fat Possum, 2003].

But whereas they paid homage to Burnside and Kimbrough with a handful of covers on those records, as well as on the 2006 EP Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough [Fat Possum], the addition of Brown and Deaton on Delta Kream unlocked Hill Country secrets like the hypnotic groove of “Going

Down South” and the locomotive “Coal Black Mattie.” They revisited Kimbrough’s “Do the Rump,” trading the lo-fi fuzz of their debutalbum version for a slower, more confident and muscular rhythm with Brown’s unhinged slide attack and a fiery Auerbach solo.

Auerbach first met Brown as a fan, when the Fat Possum Juke Joint Caravan tour stopped at the Euclid Tavern in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late Nineties. “I was really lucky up in northeastern Ohio; there was lots of great music that came through Cleveland,” he says. “I would get to see people like R.L. Burnside and Link Wray, and I saw Glenn Schwartz every week.

I realized getting to see people in person was just what I loved.”

[left] R.L. Burnside performs in the Netherlands in 1996

Want to hear more?

Here’s where to start

Auerbach frets John Lee Hooker’s nimble riff. Recording live facing each other, the band found their way through muscle memory, intuition and the subtle cues of musicians steeped in a largely improvised tradition.

Most songs were first or second takes, with Auerbach and Brown swapping roles throughout as they worked to highlight the interplay between the instruments. Their stylistic differences are apparent — the former is often more reserved than the latter on these tracks — but Tchad Blake’s mix posts Auerbach’s guitar mostly center-right while Brown is panned center-left, giving the effect of being in the room while they both find pockets of their own in the swinging grooves Carney and Deaton carve for them.

Auerbach recently talked with Guitar World about coming back to Mississippi Hill Country blues after two decades and how Delta Kream came to life.

Mississippi Fred McDowell

Were the sessions for Delta Kream the first time you played with Kenny Brown?

Hill Country Blues Essentials

R.L. Burnside

Taking inspiration from John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside [pictured above] carved a niche within the Hill Country idiom through his storyteller singing and his strumming style, which falls somewhere between fingerpicking and frailing.

Burnside recorded as early as the Sixties, but his music finally resonated with audiences after the release of Too Bad Jim [Fat Possum] in 1994. Garage-rocker Jon Spencer introduced him to

Did he take on the same role that he played with R.L. when you played together?

Yeah, the Kenny Brown role. [Laughs] Eric knows all those songs just about better than anybody and Kenny helped to invent the ones that we know and love, so it was just a real treat, because I love that particular type of music so much, that Hill Country blues. These guys really know that stuff and it’s just an absolute joy getting to hang out with those guys and play those songs with them.

You made a pilgrimage to visit the blues artists of north Mississippi in the 1990s.

What was that trip like?

The first time that I went to Junior [Kimbrough]’s juke joint, that’s when I found out he was really sick and he lost a leg to diabetes, and he just hadn’t been playing. That was also the first time I spoke to Kinney Kimbrough [Junior’s son] and met Garry Burnside [R.L.’s son]. They told me and my dad if we could loan them some money to get David Kimbrough out of jail, they could get him over to the club where guitarworld.com

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Those shows only drew him closer to the flame. When he was 18, he and his father took a trip to Mississippi to find the source of Auerbach’s obsession, and to hear “those guys [who] weren’t necessarily going to come to me.” He found both heartbreak and elation — Junior Kimbrough was in bad health, but he watched his sons play his dark, often unstructured, fingerstyle country blues at his juke joint in rural Chulahoma. When they crossed the flat, alluvial Mississippi Delta to Greenville, they found an aging T-Model Ford and spent time with him, as well.

On Delta Kream, these experiences are fullframe as Brown wrings his opening slide licks on “Crawling Kingsnake” into feedback and

That was the first time I’d really played with him. I’d seen him so much; he’s so influential. Of course, any time I saw R.L. Burnside, Kenny was there by his side.

Such a big part of those Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Records that I just obsessed over.

So I felt like I knew him, I felt like I’d played with him a million times because I sort of had, playing along with the records.

S N R E F D E R / S N E K E L L E H C S S N A R F : E G AP S I H T

Known as one of the great “lost” bluesmen whose popularity surged in the folk music scene of the 1960s, Fred McDowell influenced some of the biggest stars of the day — including the Rolling Stones, who recorded a faithful cover of his song “You Gotta Move” for their 1971 classic Sticky Fingers — while penning classics “Shake ’Em on Down,” “61 Highway” and “Drop Down Mama.”

On his final album, I Do Not Play No Rock ‘N’ Roll [Capitol], he nonetheless took up an electric guitar, the instrument of choice for young rock ‘n’ rollers. Before his death in 1972, he passed along his slide technique to an up-and-comer he had befriended named Bonnie Raitt.

we were at and they could play some Junior songs. So we gave him some money; I think it was like $24. Then David came in. Junior had a lot of kids, but [David] was by far the standout musician and he played his dad’s songs so well.

He had a strong voice, like Junior had when he was young, and I got to hear them play those Junior songs in Junior’s juke joint, surrounded by all the dancers and drinking the corn liquor.

They paid us back at the end of the night from beer money and I’ve been playing with Kinney ever since.

Patrick is quoted as saying, “Kenny Brown brings an organized chaos.” What does that mean on this new record?

Kenny knows there are parts you have to play and you can’t mess them up, but he also understands that you can’t play those parts the same way twice. Not supposed to. Every time he solos, it’s different. He just goes for it. That’s just how he is. I think Patrick describes his guitar playing as eccentric, and I wholeheartedly agree with that.

What did playing with Kenny bring out of you? Did you adjust your role of what you normally play in the Black Keys?

I think some of that spirit in the Black Keys, that reckless abandon when we play, that was learned from people like Kenny Brown.

You know what I mean? So I think that’s why we can go and improvise a record together. I learned from watching him.

How did you come up with the song list for Delta Kream? Was it just people calling out different songs, like at a juke?

N E J K F A G E S S L YA : T H G I R S T E E P N H O J : R E T N E C S E G A M I Y T T E G / N A I G O O T R A V K C A J : T F E L

Just right off the back of the hand, just thinking about the songs, and whatever popped to mind we would try it. It was funny how quickly [songs] came back. You’d say, “What about this song?” Start to pick at it a little bit and then, “No, I think it goes like this. I think it does this here. Let’s give it a shot,” and then we’d have the song in one or two takes. That’s how we made the record.

On “Louise” it sounds like you’re doing a pretty close approximation of Fred McDowell’s fingerstyle playing and how you let certain open strings drone.

That’s definitely so hard to do. I used to try to figure it out, but that’s the thing with this record — this is stuff I used to try to figure out when I was 20, and I just haven’t played it since then. Those things are so ingrained in my brain, and Eric too, he knows all those songs by heart and then some.

What are the main stylistic differences between the R.L. and Junior stuff — and Fred for that matter — in how they play?

Well, R.L. is more part of a tradition. When

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a new generation of fans and he maintained an unlikely commercial success until his death in 2005. His son Duwayne Burnside carries on his tradition, along with grandson Cedric Burnside, who has earned two Grammy nominations.

Junior Kimbrough

Junior’s Place in Chulahoma, Mississippi, was ground zero for Hill Country blues for many years.

Kimbrough and his juke got a lift from the documentary Deep Blues in 1991, which dug deep into the rural Hill Country blues scene.

While every bit as unpredictable and hypnotic as McDowell and Burnside could be, Kimbrough’s blues were darker. On the yearning “All Night Long” his guitar licks are a lonesome howl, while the pentatonic riff workout on “Lord, Have Mercy on Me” rivals Jimmy Page on “Heartbreaker” and Tom Morello’s meatiest Rage Against the Machine riffs. Sad Days, Lonely Nights is Kimbrough at his best.

Luther Dickinson

Growing up at the feet of legendary Memphis musician and producer Jim Dickinson, brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson were destined to play music. And it was the music of the Hill Country that focused their energies, as they learned from Burnside, Kimbrough and other musicians who frequented the jukes and picnics in the Nineties. Luther’s mastery of Hill Country guitar licks and techniques was evident on the North Mississippi Allstars 2000 debut, Shake Hands With Shorty [Tone Cool] — a collection of Hill Country staples they learned from their heroes — and his most enduring work nods to the place where it began. — Jim Beaugez

you say Hill Country blues, I think R.L. is more part of that tradition. He comes out of Scotty McDowell and Wayne Burnett and people like that who are really rhythmic, with the open tuning. You’ve got that “whack” thing going on with the thumb, it’s very percussive. Junior Kimbrough was his own thing, absolutely. He definitely was a product of the Hill Country and his sound represents it, but he is so unique that maybe they all sounded like him.

You acquired Fred McDowell’s Gibson Trini Lopez a while back. Did that play a role in the mix of instruments you and Kenny played?

Kenny did play it; I don’t remember which song. You know what guitar that I got recently also is Hound Dog Taylor’s Teisco [Kingstonbranded SD-40]. Everybody played that one.

Kenny Brown, we split them out and he played it some on the record. But Kenny had the Silvertone that I saw R.L. play every time I saw R.L. play, and it’s on the records that I love.

Those are Kenny’s guitars. A black Strat that he always played. Those had a really amazing sound and I remember those things very vividly. It was really fun.

How far out did you get with amps and other gear, or did you plug straight in?

I had my tweed [Fender] Deluxe narrow panel and an [Ebo Customs] E-verb spring reverb.

This guy in town [Eric Borash], in Nashville, makes this spring reverb that I really like.

That’s about it. I’ve got a fuzz that I’ll have on sometimes, [an Analog.Man] germanium fuzz.

I played my ’60 Tele most of the time. Kenny may have been playing a tweed Deluxe also.

I’ve got two of them and I think he was playing one. He had a fuzz pedal that was turned all the way down, but still kind of dirty. He would use that for some solos with the slide. It’s such an awesome sound because he’s got the lipstick pickups with the slide and it’s just a very

[left] Junior Kimbrough performs in New York in 1990; [center] Auerbach and Carney at work; [right] Kenny Brown and Auerbach

awesome, unique high end.

You recorded live as a five-piece and sometimes six-piece band with a percussionist and keys. How is the room at Easy Eye Sound set up? Were you all facing each other?

That’s right. We have some tall baffles with glass in them around the drums, but it’s not enclosed; it’s open at the top, so it was bleeding everywhere. The percussion is sitting face to face with the drummer and then the bass player and me and Kenny were all in a circle.

We could all see each other.

What does that bleed do to the mix? What does it bring to the finished product?

Here’s the thing: If you don’t fuck up, it’s amazing. If you mess up, it’s a nightmare because you can’t fix it. You just have to be cool with warts-and-all type of recording. I think that that bleed is a big part of the magic of some of the old classic recordings. Most people learn that eventually, that half of their favorite drum sound is bleeding from some other mic. Bleed can be your friend. Let it bleed.

Why do you think it took so long for you and Patrick to get into the studio with guys from the Hill Country?

I’m not really sure. That’s sort of what I was thinking when I was there doing it. You couldn’t have made this record 10 years ago.

Somebody told me yesterday, “This reminds me of old Black Keys.” I’m like, “No, it doesn’t, because we weren’t that good.” I think it reminded them of the spirit. It’s the same spirit, but it’s a couple of decades later. Having those guys on the record is just a difference maker. I think for both Pat and me it made it more meaningful. That’s really the reason we were there.

Everybody Hollerin’ GOAT MEET KENNY BROWN, THE GREATEST OF THE HILL COUNTRY BLUES SIDEMEN

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F YOU’RE GOING to make an authentic Mississippi Hill Country blues record, there are only a handful of people still alive who played with masters like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. One of them is 68-year-old guitarist Kenny Brown. Brown grew up in Nesbit, Mississippi, and learned to play guitar from Mississippi Joe Callicott, who lived next door, when he was 10. He also absorbed the music coming from picnics across the road, where fife-and-drum masters Otha Turner (whose 1998 recording Everybody Hollerin’ Goat is a defining document of the music) and Napoleon Strickland would play with Fred McDowell.

“They would go all weekend sometimes,” Brown says.

“I heard that stuff, and then Joe Callicott moved in next door to me and I loved what he was doing. That’s what got me to doing the blues more than any other thing.”

Brown picked up the tunings and techniques of Hill Country blues from Callicott in those early guitar lessons.

“Joe first showed me slide in G tuning, which he called Spanish tuning,” he says. “He used a pocket knife, tuned the guitar to Spanish open G and laid it in his lap.” Not long after Callicott passed away, Brown met Bobby Ray Watson, who showed him open E tuning and how to play slide upright with a piece of pipe or glass on his finger.

“I’ve used everything you can think of, from an 11/16 deep-well socket [to] Coricidin bottles when you could get the old glass Coricidin bottles in the Seventies,” he says. Until the mid Nineties, when he began touring and performing full time, he

would have plumbers on the construction jobs he worked cut 3/4-inch copper tubing so it barely hung off the tip of his finger, just how he likes it.

By the time he met R.L. Burnside in the early 1970s, Brown was eager to play the Hill Country blues he had grown up with. The pair began playing at Burnside’s house a few times a week, sometimes until late at night, and later at juke joints like Junior’s Place, owned by Junior Kimbrough. Brown became a formidable sideman for both bluesmen, appearing on Burnside’s entire 1990s-2000s output, from Too Bad Jim through A Bothered Mind, as well as on Kimbrough’s Sad Days, Lonely Nights and Most Things Haven’t Worked Out [all Fat Possum].

While playing as a duo and with people like R.L.’s grandson Cedric Burnside on drums (now a Grammynominated blues singer and guitarist), Brown and Burnside worked out a way to

complement each other. “The way we got the sound that we did, both of us were using our thumb and index finger, going up and down,” he says.

“And even though we played pretty close to the same licks, I might be sliding while he was picking with his fingers, and vice versa. I tried not to play on top of him, and we just over the years developed a way of playing together.

“The way our hands were going, getting so much harmonics going, there were times where I swear somebody had walked up on stage playing a harmonica, or I could hear a piano play and look around the stage and there wouldn’t be anybody there,” he says.

Brown was also by his side on A Ass Pocket of Whiskey [Fat Possum], Burnside’s 1996 collaboration with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, as well as the subsequent world tours that gave them a new audience of collegeage fans and sustained them until Burnside passed away in 2005.

In the years since, Brown has collaborated with artists like Jessie Mae Hemphill and the North Mississippi Allstars, fronted by former Black Crowes guitarist Luther Dickinson. He also organizes the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, an annual gathering of regional blues artists that carries on the traditions of Kimbrough’s Sunday-evening jams, Otha Turner’s goat barbecues and the picnics Brown attended as a boy in Nesbit.

“Blues and this Hill Country music — you know, they didn’t even call it Hill Country music when I started playing it — but I think it’s more popular now than it’s ever been,” he says. “It’s such real music … I think a lot of people are hungry for this kind of stuff. I feel honored.”

— Jim Beaugez guitarworld.com

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From the iconic to the infamous to the (literally) incendiary, we’ve tracked down the absolute wildest on-stage antics in six-string history

By AMIT SHARMA Compiled by GUITAR WORLD STAFF

COMPILED BY

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Queen’s Freddie Mercury [left] and Brian May perform at Live Aid in London, July 13, 1985

FG/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GETTY IMAGES

Sister Rosetta Tharpe performs at a 1964 blues-and-gospel caravan show in the UK

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greatest live performances

A GREAT LIVE moment can mean so many different things. It can be an experience that forever binds the minds of those on stage with the audience in front of them — the perfect setlist matched by the right atmosphere and sonic treatment. A for, is like catching lightning . But an historic event is often so much more than ong performance; it can be anything from an unexpected t appearance or collaboration, something with some un-political ramifications — or one of those times t quite go as planned, which, as every guitarist , is always an ever-hovering possibility. If anything, it’s ve reacted in the face of adversity that has left ting impressions — rare opportunities to prove e more than just a simple rehearsal to perfection. ve been a number of on-stage victories for any of the ed in this list, though — in our humble opinion — t definitive events in guitar history. omised you 40, but our math isn’t so good, so, as own in a few extras. Enjoy!)

Mary duels with Paul — on Les Pauls

THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR, 1954

IN THE FIFTIES, when the name Les Paul

was spoken, it was often in tandem with that of Mary Ford, his wife and musical partner.

The duo were among the biggest recording artists of the early Fifties, cutting 16 top10 hits, including “How High the Moon” and “Vaya Con Dios.” In ’51 alone, they sold six million records. Small wonder that Gibson sought out Les in 1952 to put his name on their new solidbody electric. While Ford was the featured singer on the couple’s songs, she was a fine guitarist as well, as heard in a famous — and 100 percent live — YouTube clip (search for “Les Paul & Mary Ford Live Part 2 Of 3”). It comes from a performance on NBC’s The Colgate Comedy Hour and originally aired in March 1954. In the clip, Les and Mary, each armed with a Les Paul, perform a mock guitar battle during a performance of “There’s No Place Like Home.” And there’s no place on network TV for stuff like this in 2021!

S E G A M I Y T T E G / S N AV E Y N O T

The Beatles light a (figurative) fire

THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, FEBRUARY 1964

“SEEING THE BEATLES on Sullivan was a defining moment in my and millions of other guys’ lives, all of us naively thinking, ‘I wanna do that!’” Aerosmith legend Joe Perry tells us. Yes, it’s no secret the Beatles helped popularize guitars more than any

band before them. Instrument orders skyrocketed as a direct consequence of their debut live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, which broke records for its viewing audience — going out to 73 million people, almost half a TVwatching nation. “I read somewhere that after the Beatles appeared on [the Sullivan shows] Gretsch sold 20,000 guitars a week, or something like that,” said George Harrison, who played a walnut Gretsch Country Gentleman that day. “I mean, we would have had shares in… Gretsch and everything, but we didn’t know.”

Sister Rosetta Tharpe shreds with fury

TV GOSPEL TIME, MID SIXTIES FOOTAGE OF SISTER Rosetta Tharpe’s earth-shaking guitar work continues to go viral — and rightly so. Very few video recordings exist of Tharpe (who’s often called “the Godmother of Rock ’n’ Roll”), which only adds to her legend, though the sheer charisma shining through her playing is strikingly evident. In one of her most famous clips, she’s performing “Up Above My Head” on TV Gospel Time, proudly wielding her ’62 Gibson Les Paul Custom with the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church Choir behind her. The sheer ferocity in her playing is, even by today’s standards, phenomenal, which explains why Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Chuck Berry were among her most famous admirers. Getting a bit closer to home, this performance has special significance in guitarworld.com history; when we initially shared a story about

this performance, became one of our most-viewed stories in GW history, racking up nearly 200,000 likes on Facebook, which isn’t, you know, all that common...

Bob Dylan’s Strat smokes Newport

NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, 1965

FOR MANY OF the committed folk purists attending this 1965 Rhode Island gathering, Bob Dylan committed the ultimate sin. They were expecting an acoustic performance; instead they watched their poster boy turn up with an unannounced band and plug in to play his first-ever electric set. It was an act of rebelliousness that forged a path for the artists who followed, giving them the freedom to be creative under their own terms.

At the time, however, it was quite a lot for the crowd to take in, with radio broadcaster John Gilliland describing how the acoustic prophet “electrified one half of his audience and electrocuted the other.” The following year in Manchester, England, he was famously heckled “Judas!” for the same reasons, forsaking the stripped-down honesty he’d been instrumental in founding to pursue more thunderous avenues of noise.

Jimi Hendrix lets us stand next to his (literal) fire MONTEREY POP, 1967

VERY FEW IMAGES — if any at all — have epitomized the dawn of a new age for guitar as well as Ed Caraeff’s shot of Jimi Hendrix summoning the fire gods out of his Strat during “Wild Thing” at the end of this landmark set. It’s symbolic for so many reasons, though arguably it’s the sheer look of unabashed amazement and joy on his face, a king being crowned almost in a state of surrender to the flames rising from his pickups. It was, in fact, Hendrix’s second go at the lighter fuel stunt, having surprised audiences in London a few months earlier during “Fire” (the song), and perhaps surprising himself ever so slightly too, later visiting hospital in need of treatment for minor burns. “The dude is probably the most colorful guitarist I’ve ever seen and heard,” says Black Pumas guitarist Eric Burton. “[‘Wild Thing’] is such a staple of American rock ’n’ roll, and it was cool for him to completely own the song [at Monterey].”

Pete Townshend: Axe murderer!

THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR, 1967

REGARDLESS OF HOW you feel about people destroying guitars on stage (or elsewhere), there’s no denying the iconic status of that old chestnut — “The Who’s Pete guitarworld.com

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Les Paul and Mary Ford pose with Les’ namesake Gibson guitar circa 1955

deafening feedback. Appearing on The Dick Cavett Show a few months after the performance, Hendrix was confronted with the opinion that covering the national anthem in such an unorthodox manner could lead to a backlash. “It’s not unorthodox — I thought it was beautiful,” he said, reasoning that, “I’m an American, so I played it — they made me sing it in school… it was a flashback.”

The Allmans make Southern rock history FILLMORE EAST, 1971

FEW LIVE ALBUMS feel as career-encapsulating as the Allman Brothers Band’s Fillmore East show, recorded over two consecutive nights in March 1971, to the point where it’s these renditions that have since become the renditions. The interplay between the band members over these drawn-out, elongated jams is what set them apart, typifying the kind of natural telepathy every band dreams about. At the very forefront of their brilliance sat Duane Allman, a figure still regarded as one of the greatest slide players of all time, trading against the dynamics of founding guitarist and occasional singer Dickey Betts’ bluesy contributions.

Rory Gallagher risks life and limb ULSTER HALL, 1972

Albert King’s blues powers the Fillmore

FILLMORE AUDITORIUM, 1968

NO, IT’S NOT B.B. King’s Live at the Regal (widely hailed as one of the greatest live blues albums of all time), but Albert King’s 1968 offering, Blues Power/Live Wire, arguably has a bit more oomph — not to mention those 10 minutes and 16 seconds called “Blues Power,” the opening track. During that track, we hear King — a to-the-bone bluesman — mesmerize a mostly rock-lov-

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ing San Fran audience while laying down about 33.33 percent of the road map that a very young Stevie Ray Vaughan would soon follow. There are moments during “Blues Power” and “Blues at Sunrise” when you might mistakenly think you’re listening to SRV’s “Ain’t Gone ‘n’ Give Up on Love.”

Jimi Hendrix channels his instrument of war at Woodstock WOODSTOCK, 1969

THE CROWDS HAD drastically thinned by the time Hendrix took Woodstock’s stage on a Monday morning (August 18, 1969), but that didn’t stop him from launching into “The Star-Spangled Banner” and turning his guitar into a weapon of mass destruction.

He managed to soundtrack the nightmare of Vietnam in ways no one else could ever have conceived, embodying the frustrations of counter-culture and disenfranchised youth, even reflecting on his own brief stint in the military. Using a maxed-out Fuzz Face, a modded Vox wah and his guitar’s tremolo arm, he was able to transport the crowd into the throes of battle, with bombs raining from the sky and explosions erupting into

Bob Marley records his first international hit LYCEUM THEATRE, 1975

IT WAS OVER two nights in London where Bob Marley transcended from the frontman

S E G A M I Y T T E G / E V I H C R A S H C O L E A H C I M : S E G AP H T O B

Townshend just smashed his guitar on stage!” Sure, smashing one’s guitar or bass has become “a thing” since 1967 (just ask Phoebe Bridges, who punished her Danelectro Dano ’56 on SNL back in February), but when Townshend starting doing it, it was new, exciting, dangerous and — most importantly for a band trying to stand out from the very impressive crowd — attention-grabbing. We’ve chosen this particular smashup because it’s immortalized in The Kids Are Alright and happened pretty early in the game. Sure, Pete had turned destruction into an artform by Woodstock two years later, but we’ve got that venue covered, as you’ll see.

IT IS RUMORED that when Hendrix was once asked how it felt to be the world’s greatest guitarist, he replied, “I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher!” We’ll never know for certain what was said exactly, but the singer-guitarist would have certainly been worthy of such high praise. When he performed at Belfast’s Ulster Hall on New Year’s Day 1972, there hadn’t been a rock concert in over six months — and understandably so. It was at the very height of the Troubles, at a time when more than 10 car bombs were going off a night, though if anyone was going to find a way through the chaos, it always going to be Gallagher, whose father hailed from Derry, the secondlargest city in Northern Ireland, and whose mother came from Cork, the second-largest south of the border. What he delivered that night was some much-needed escapism from the continual unrest and lingering threat of death, using blues to heal and unite on an island where religion and politics had so tragically conquered and divided.

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WINTERLAND BALLROOM, 1976 FILMED AND DIRECTED by Martin Scorsese for a 1978 documentary, The Last Waltz was a concert organized by the Band that had taken place Thanksgiving Day two years prior. Among the list of celebrated performers appearing that night were Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters and Bob Dylan, though it’s what happened during Eric Clapton’s set that stole headlines the following day.

When his guitar strap gave in only 30 seconds into “Further On Up the Road,” right in the middle of his opening lead, Clapton shouted for Robbie Robertson’s atten-

tion; the seasoned Band guitarist instantly cut in with some improvised G minor blues without missing a beat, seamlessly reverting back to rhythm once Slowhand was back in the saddle. Quick thinking! And, broken strap or not, this is one hell of a Strat-packed jam; there are more than enough tasty licks to go around, nicely divided with Robertson in the left speaker and EC on the right.

Van Halen show us what they’re made of

PASADENA CONVENTION CENTER, 1977

IF ANY CONCERT marked the arrival of

Van Halen, it was this — a widely bootlegged performance in their home city just weeks after recording their game-changing debut.

Then only 22, Eddie Van Halen was very much the full package, from those perfectly overdriven tones to his whammy bar stunts and — arguably the most groundbreaking of all — the two-handed licks covering great distance at high speed with natural finesse. Armed with a killer set of their earliest tracks, the quartet were taking no prisoners, which is what makes the recordings such a wildly enticing listen all these years

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of the Wailers and into a solo artist in his own right, poised for international acclaim.

The Live! album that arrived later that year was recorded using the Rolling Stones’ Mobile Studio — also borrowed by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple and Lou Reed — and was mainly comprised of performances from the first night, with Marley covering rhythm and Al Anderson on lead.

“No Woman, No Cry” was released as a single, resulting in his first international Top 40 hit... and the rest is history.

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The Beatles chat with Ed Sullivan prior to their historic February 9, 1964, performance

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on — dazzling charisma and talent captured in its full, unadulterated glory. Guitar music would never be the same again. “Friends, it’s true, Van Halen is here,” grinned singer David Lee Roth, as Eddie tuned his higher strings. “Do you know when we started out here, there weren’t too many people, but now it appears things have changed!”

AC/DC record their first live album

GLASGOW APOLLO THEATRE, 1978

WHEN IT COMES to rock ’n’ roll power, Angus and Malcolm Young will forever be remembered as a whirlwind force unlike any other. The first live AC/DC album, If You Want Blood You’ve Got It, is more hardhitting and direct than any of the Brian Johnson-fronted live releases that followed, with 10 choice tracks from their first five studio albums, including “Bad Boy Boogie” and “Let There Be Rock.” The Youngs strike with such ferocity, it’s a wonder they’re not breaking strings every song — and then, of course, there are those snarling leads ringing from Angus’ SG, cutting and abrasive with sustain courtesy of his 100Watt Marshall JMP MV. Truly electric stuff. guitarworld.com

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Di Meola, McLaughlin and de Lucía join forces

THE WARFIELD, SAN FRANCISCO, 1980 RECORDED FOR THE most part — just

as the live album title would suggest — on a Friday night in San Francisco, the three virtuosos sounded truly sublime together.

From a technical standpoint, each as trailblazing as the other, it’s the combination of styles and influences at play that makes the recordings such an impressive listen.

Di Meola and McLaughlin pick with devastating accuracy, unleashing all kinds of machine-gun fire, while it’s de Lucía who amazes with fingerstyle warmth and flamenco strums. In hindsight, Friday nights in San Fran have very rarely sounded this good.

Iron Maiden’s Dave Murry performs March 11, 1985, in Long Beach, California

Keith Richards fights off a stage invader

HAMPTON COLISEUM, VIRGINIA, 1981

IF YOU EVER find yourself invading a stage occupied by the Rolling Stones, you might wish to avoid Keith Richards at all costs — because, as one enthusiastic fan found out at the beginning of the Eighties, he’ll probably wave his Telecaster around and beat you with it until you leave. Footage of this event was uploaded by the Stones themselves a few years ago — perhaps as a stark warning to anyone mad enough to gatecrash their set without strict invitation.

THOUGH THE “BEAT It” solo was per-

formed by Jennifer Batten on most of its

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live renditions, Eddie did end up performing his part on stage in 1984 when the Jackson Brothers reunited for their Victory tour. As it turned out, Van Halen were playing nearby in Dallas the same day, providing a rare opportunity for the guitar hero and popstar to join forces in front of 120,000 people. “You got it Eddie… Eddie, Eddie!” screams Jackson as a 30-year-old EVH taps away with that world-famous grin.

A young Dimebag Darrell rips it up

PROJECTS IN THE JUNGLE TOUR, 1984

YOU DON’T HAVE to look hard to find video footage of metal legend Dimebag Darrell doing what he does best. And while

there’s an abundance of material from Pantera’s glory years, it’s a video from their second album tour — filmed in 1984 when the guitarist was 18 — which surfaced some 13 years ago that best showcases just what a world-beating talent he was at such a young age. During an elongated guitar solo, he rips through Van Halen and Randy Rhoads licks at blistering speeds on a trans cherry sunburst Dean ML, almost without a care in the world — proof he was destined to become the guitar hero for a new age.

B.B. King changes a string mid-song

FARM AID, ILLINOIS, 1985

WHEN YOU’RE BENDING like B.B., string breakages are par for the course. In 1985,

SEGAMI YTTEG AIV NOITCELLOC ALLELAG NOR/ALLELAG NOR

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MONTREAX, SWITZERLAND, 1982

REMEMBER THAT OUR list includes infamous moments — and this one is definitely infamous, especially if you’re an Stevie Ray Vaughan fan. During his performance of “Texas Flood” at the ’82 Montreux Jazz Festival, Stevie reached into his bag of AlbertKing-meets-Jimi licks — not to mention behind his back, where his Strat rests for the final quarter of the epic performance. SRV floored almost everyone that night; a handful of very loud-and-clear blues purists can be heard (and clearly seen in YouTube clips) booing at Stevie, Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton. “We weren’t sure how we’d be accepted,” Vaughan told GW in the Eighties.

Yeah, but... he must’ve known it went well when David Bowie appeared backstage — and an important alliance was born.

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SRV gets booed by blues “purists”

Al Anderson [left] and Bob Marley perform in the UK in July 1975; [below] B.B. King at Farm Aid in September 1985

halfway into “How Blue Can You Get” at the inaugural Farm Aid, his B string had simply had enough. Ever the professional, he carried on singing and fronting his band while winding up a new one himself. When finished, he was having so much fun, he didn’t even bother bringing Lucille back in, ending the song with his arms outstretched and a big smile on his face. A true performer.

Iron Maiden take metal to new heights LONG BEACH ARENA, 1985

FOR A LOT OF metal fans, Iron Maiden’s Live After Death — predominantly recorded at Long Beach Arena in 1985 — was (and most likely always will be) their most quintessential live release. And rightly so, given the setlist and sheer conviction of the NWOBHM heroes at this stage in their career. It’s also when the group’s live shows started to become the stuff of legend, the ancient Egyptian themes of newest album Powerslave giving them ample opportunity to explore more theatricalities and pyrotechnics. As evidenced by these storming renditions of “The Trooper,” “Aces High” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” the twopronged guitar assault of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray was as good as it gets.

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A gaggle of guitar legends — from Gilmour to Van Halen to Setzer to Copeland — honored Les Paul at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in August 1988

S N R E F D E R / S T R E B O R T E B E :T H G I R

Queen reunite at London’s Wembley Stadium LIVE AID, 1985

S N R E F D E R / N O S K C I D N A I :T F E L P O T

EVEN BOB GELDOF admitted that, despite stiff competition from Led Zeppelin, Elton John and David Bowie, Queen were the undisputed highlight of the charity concerts he organized in 1985. And with a tight 20-minute setlist comprising “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” first half, “Radio Ga Ga,” “Hammer to Fall,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” parts of “We Will Rock You” and finally “We Are the Champions,” it’s easy to understand why. After some time away from the world’s stages, it was the moment they reminded us just how wonderfully Freddie Mercury’s soaring vocals and Brian May’s snarling mids led those skyrocketing anthems.

SEGAMI YTTEG/NNAMTTEB :TFEL

Giving it their all for Les Paul

BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, 1988

ON AUGUST 18, 9, a now-hard-tofathom horde of famous guitarists got together to celebrate the life and music of guitar great Les Paul, who was 73 at the time. The show, which was released on a

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the pair switch instruments as SRV continues with vocals, almost as if it were all planned. He was, in every way imaginable, the real deal. now-sought-after VHS (with an incredibly Jason Becker whips out long title), brought Les onto the same stage a yo-yo in Japan with Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour, Brian JAPAN, 1989 Setzer (who bellowed, “Hey, Eddie Van Halen, get your butt up here, man!”), B.B. THE JAPANESE CROWDS attending what King, Stanley Jordan, Steve Miller and yes, would end up being one of Cacophony’s even Waylon Jennings! This show has been final tours couldn’t believe their eyes. In celebrated GuitarWorld.com front of them, a 19-year-old Jason Becker B.B. Kingon Performing at Farm Aidin the past, but(Original it has become more poignant now unleashes Caption)even 9/22/1985-Champaign, IL- B.B. King brought athemyriad of legato runs while raishouse down at the Farm Aid concert in Champaign, playing guitar that some of its biggest stars — Les, Eddie ing hishis right hand up to his ear, demandcalled Lucille. and B.B. — have passed on. It’s a bit like that ing for the room to scream louder. And video of George Harrison, Eric Clapton and then — out of nowhere — he starts throwRingo Starr performing “While My Guitar ing a yo-yo while his other hand climbs up Gently Weeps” in 97; it was cool then, but and down the fretboard of his pearl purple it’s priceless now.

Kiesel superstrat, every note ringing out as

SRV triumphs over a broken string

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, 1989

WE DON’T NEED proof that Stevie Ray Vaughan was an unstoppable force on his guitar, but plenty of it exists nonetheless.

One of the more unforgettable examples of his genius came while performing “Look at Little Sister” for a television special in 1989, when his B string breaks halfway into his solo — though few would have been able to tell, given how he carries on through to the end. Only then does he call for help, and, following a quick nod to tech Rene Martinez,

loud and proud as the last. The grainy clips are still widely shared to this day, fondly remembered as being one of the most audacious and brazen guitar stunts of all time.

Soon both Cacophony axemen would get their big breaks — Marty Friedman with Megadeth in 1990 and Becker in David Lee Roth’s solo band a year later.

The world’s Guitar Legends unite SEVILLE, SPAIN, 1991

IF YOU’RE GOING to name your event anything even half as bold as Guitar Legends, you better have the lineup to back it up. Forguitarworld.com

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Kurt Cobain takes five during the filming of Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged show in New York City, November 18, 1993

Paul Gilbert doffs his cap to Jimi

FRANKFURT JAZZ FESTIVAL, 1991

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WEMBLEY STADIUM, 1992

THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY the biggest band in the world by this point, and though it was toward the end of their golden age, drummer and rhythm guitarist Steven Adler and Izzy Stradlin having already been replaced by Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke respectively, the Sunset Strip renegades were still very much on fire. After tearing through newer tracks like “Bad Obsession” and “Double Talkin’ Jive,” as well as the bigger hits from Appetite for Destruction, and an extended Slash solo built around The Godfather’s love theme, they then brought out Brian May for two Queen covers.

Following “Tie Your Mother Down” and “We Will Rock You” with closers “Don’t Cry” and “Paradise City,” it would become one of the group’s most landmark concerts away from home soil.

Nirvana go acoustic

SONY MUSIC STUDIOS, 1993 THERE ARE NUMEROUS factors as to why Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York set would become one of their most renowned. As the band’s first release in the aftermath of Kurt Cobain’s death, the live recordings were a stark reminder of what

the world had just lost — a brilliantly talented songwriter whose thought-provoking lyrics, chordal simplicity and chromatic single-note motifs made a difference to many lives. It was often his imperfections that made him such a truly left-field visionary; case in point, the opening part of his outro solo for David Bowie cover “The Man Who Sold The World,” which may very well have been a mistake. It appears as if Cobain slides a semitone below then up a semitone above the note he was most likely aiming for, before joining cellist Lori Goldston in pitch. If it was a mistake, the way he owns it and recovers is what makes the interpretation perhaps even better than exact correctness, giving the line a somewhat menacing, atonal flavor.

Nine Inch Nails get messy WOODSTOCK, 1994

TORRENTIAL RAIN TURNED this midNineties edition of Woodstock into a giant mudbath, which is why, minutes before they were due to hit the stage, Trent Reznor and his cohorts caked themselves in the stuff. Not only was their music intrinsically darker and more malevolent than anything else on offer that year, they also looked like they’d risen out of a nearby graveyard and played like they were hellbent on destruction. And though it was, and still very much is, Reznor’s band

S E G A M I Y T T E G /D N A L T U P L E A H C I M : T F E L

OF ALL THE Racer X/Mr. Big guitarist’s live offerings, this short set from a European solo tour in the early Nineties might sound like an oddity. It is, however, where his “Tribute to Jimi Hendrix” set was recorded — stretching “Red House,” “Hey Joe,” “Highway Chile,” “Midnight” and “Purple Haze” into a 45-minute set of shredding glory. Which is why, of course, it’s such a goldmine for stealing some of Gilbert’s signature licks, from Mixolydian ideas that bounce between major and minor pentatonic box shapes to those head-turning string skips and wide-interval arpeggios.

Guns N’ Roses bring out Brian May

S N R E F D E R / N O S T U H K C I M :T H G I R

tunately for this one-off Spanish event, the guitar gods arrived en masse, from blues greats like B.B. King and Robert Cray to high-gain rockers such as Brian May, Steve Vai and Nuno Bettencourt, with the jazz world covered very nicely by the likes of George Benson, John McLaughlin, Les Paul and Paco de Lucía. And it didn’t end there, either — joining them were other six-string heroes like Albert Collins, Joe Walsh and Keith Richards, and bass masters including Roger Waters, Jack Bruce and Stanley Clarke. Wish you there? Yeah, so do we…

greatest live performances

Live Wires

Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck in action at Woodstock ’94

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A bevy of name-brand guitarists — from Morello to Strauss to Bonamassa to Reid — name their favorite, most lifechanging concert moments

TOM MORELLO

THE CLASH, THE ARAGON BALLROOM, CHICAGO, 1982

“Seeing that my favorite musician, Joe Strummer, used the exact same little Music Man amp that I had in my mom’s basement made me realize that rock wasn’t something I might be able to do in the future. I was doing it now.”

METALLICA, LOS ANGELES COLISEUM, LOS ANGELES, 1988

“Metallica were sandwiched between Kingdom Come and Dokken on the Monsters of Rock tour. They sounded 10 times louder and 10 times better than any of the bands on the bill, and the entire stadium erupted into a chair-throwing, fence-scaling awesome midday heavy metal riot. I’ve never seen another band deliver such an ass-kicking to the rest of a bill.”

NINE INCH NAILS, LOLLAPALOOZA, 1991

“I had never heard of Nine Inch Nails before the 1991 Lollapalooza tour. Trent Reznor and company put on the most exciting, outrageous, violent, ferocious, industrial punk-metal cage match that I had ever seen on stage. Until that moment, I didn’t think you could ever rock properly with keyboards in a band, but Trent proved me wrong.”

SARAH LONGFIELD

ANIMALS AS LEADERS, THE EAGLES BALLROOM, 2010

and music, long-serving guitarist Robin Finck — who would also later join Guns N’ Roses — served up a truly captivating wall of noise alongside their warring synths and mechanical drums. Industrial rock never looked or sounded more dangerous than this.

Kyuss hit Europe for the last time EUROPE! 1995

WHILE PERHAPS NOT as fabled as their early “generator parties” in the outdoors of Southern California’s high desert areas,

some of the best live footage of the stoner rock heroes was recorded at Germany’s Bizarre festival in the mid Nineties. Adding to the legend is the fact that they broke up just weeks later, with guitarist Josh Homme’s mainstream success in Queens of the Stone Age seemingly putting an end to any chance of a reunion — though last year he did, for the first time ever, say he was open to the idea. These rumbly renditions of songs like “Gardenia,” “One Inch Man” and “Green Machine” are breathtakingly earthy and weighty, championing psychedelic fuzz in a way that few have been able to get so right.

“Seeing Animals As Leaders live for the first time (they were opening a tour for Circa Survive, who I also love!) was incredible. I’d been watching Tosin Abasi’s guitar work online a bit and was really inspired by how out-of-thisworld it sounded, so getting to see them live was really inspiring. Tosin was also teaching on that tour, so I managed to get a lesson from him that ended up totally changing the way I approach guitar. I consider that show to have a huge impact on how my guitar style evolved.”

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN / GENGHIS TRON, THE LOFT, 2007 “This concert was the first I’d been to without a parent (I was 14) and it absolutely blew me away. I only got to catch a bit of Dillinger’s set because I had school the next day haha, but it was monumental in defining them as a huge influence for me. I remember Genghis Tron was also on the bill (another of my favorite bands) and that was the first time I’d ever seen anyone try and blend heavy music with

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screaming AND synthesizers in a way I’d never heard done before. It was perfectly heavy, hypnotic and crushing. Genghis Tron also just released a new album after a long hiatus — you should absolutely check it out!”

ERIC JOHNSON

PETER GABRIEL, AUSTIN COLISEUM, AUSTIN, 1982

“I saw Peter Gabriel during his tour for the album Security. It’s one of my favorite records, so to see him perform it live was really special.

The whole show was brilliant — the presentation, the mix. After all these years, I still remember how I felt when the band played the song ‘San Jacinto’ — it was so overwhelmingly powerful, like a spiritual experience. I had tears in my eyes. The next day, I read a review with the headline: ‘Peter Gabriel — pretentious and boring.’ Really?”

JOHN PETRUCCI

RUSH, NASSAU COLISEUM, LONG ISLAND, NY, 1982

“My first concert. I was 12, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. The whole arena smelled like pot — I’ll never forget that.

At that time, Rush were like these mythical figures to me; they didn’t exist in the real world.

Suddenly, there they were, in the same place as me — I couldn’t believe it. Even though I had terrible seats, I didn’t care. When they played ‘La Villa Strangiato,’ Alex Lifeson did a solo that ripped my face off. Everything about the show was phenomenal. It was very inspiring.”

TOMMY EMMANUEL, TOWN HALL, NEW YORK CITY, 2018

“My wife, Rena, and I went to see Tommy play a solo show in Manhattan, and man, it was such a beautiful experience. Watching Tommy play was like seeing the reason the guitar was invented. His talent is just beyond words, but he also draws you in with his warmth and humor. We were in the second row, and I guess he spotted me and knew who I was, because he asked for me to come backstage and say hi. He was so nice to Rena and me. It was great to make that personal connection with him.”

VERNON REID

FUNKADELIC, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, 1973

MUDDY WATERS, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, 1980

“In 1980, I played Europe for the first time with Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society at the world-renowned North Sea Jazz Festi-

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KNEBWORTH HOUSE, 1996

THOUGH BANDS LIKE Queen and Led Zeppelin had famously played the grounds of this famous Grade II-listed house in the past, Oasis set the record for the biggest crowd it had ever greeted — with more than 4 percent of the British nation applying for tickets, of which a quarter of a million were lucky. The performances, taking place over two nights and revisited on their 2016 Supersonic documentary, saw them riding high on the success of second album What’s the Story (Morning Glory), released the year prior. The setlist was as watertight as it gets, focusing on the alternative brilliance of early works such as “Columbia” and “Supersonic,” as well as cult B-sides like “Acquiesce,” “The Masterplan” and “Round Are Way.” It was, in many ways, Brit-rock’s finest hour, earning Noel Gallagher a godlike status for his seemingly inexhaustible supply of anthems. For more Oasis, head to page 110!

Alice In Chains go unplugged BROOKLYN, 1996

THOSE IN ATTENDANCE for Alice In Chains’ acoustic MTV set were lucky enough to witness history in the making.

There had always been an acoustic element to the Seattle group’s earworm melodies; however, the unplugged interpretations presented their heartfelt honesty in a new light — fraught with an emotion and depth that delved way beyond the usual confines of heavy noise. The live album, which came out on CD and VHS that year, was littered with highlights, from chordal masterpieces like “Nutshell” and “Rooster” to the opentuned “Over Now,” but it’s arguably their stunning fingerpicked rendition of “Down in a Hole” that will be forever remembered as alt.rock at its absolute finest.

Radiohead conquer the setbacks to rescue Glastonbury GLASTONBURY, 1997

BY THEIR OWN admission, Radiohead’s first time headlining Glastonbury should’ve been a taste of heaven but ended up more “like a form of hell” — riddled with equipment failures that left them “in crisis mode” and forced members into questioning whether to even continue with the set. But it was also in the face of adversity where the Oxfordshire quintet prevailed, rescuing a mud-soaked weekend of sinking sages, late starts, dropouts and cancellations. Their setlist was a perfect storm of new offerings

from OK Computer and the two albums before it, a most definitive and spellbinding summary of Radiohead’s more guitardominated years. Concocting their own orchestra of alternative sounds, guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien and Thom Yorke were splicing grunge and Brit-rock through the glare of their own psychedelic lens, and with staggering results.

Phish cross over to e Dark Side

WEST VALLEY, UTAH, 1998

ACCORDING TO LEGEND, due to poor ticket sales for a November 1998 show in Utah, Phish had a “What the hell?” moment and decided to treat their dedicated Phans to a spot-on rendering of Pink Floyd masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon in full — right in the middle of their set. Actually, it turns out the band spent that entire afternoon going over the album in their rehearsal space. To paraphrase ourselves (from earlier in this story), if there’s one show most Phish fans wish they’d witnessed, it’s this (and maybe 1996’s Clifford Ball in Plattsburgh…?). Of course, we can’t mention the Phish performance without a shout out to Dream Theater, who famously performed the same album at the Hammersmith Apollo in London in October 2005 — joined by backing singer Theresa Thomason and saxophonist Norbert Stachel for good measure. It was recorded for an official bootleg, and the quintet even had enough gas in the tank for two encores after. Bravo!

Metallica put the class in classical

BERKELEY COMMUNITY THEATRE, 1999

IT GOES WITHOUT saying that Metallica’s career has been quite frankly littered with magical moments. But if you ask fans which single performance they wish they could have been there for, many will argue it’s the S&M set with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra that captured the thrash innovators at their most sonically expansive and daring. It was Michael Kamen, the man they partnered with on 1992 single “Nothing Else Matters,” who suggested the idea in the first place and — with him arranging and conducting the symphonic accompaniments — the live recordings ended up sitting among their most deeply admired releases. It’s notable how Kamen’s score adds to the group’s heaviness rather than taming it, bringing even more gravitas and weight to tracks like “Battery,” “Wherever I May Roam” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

SEGAMI YTTEG/MIK JM

ERUTUF/NOTSNARB HPESOJ

“My first concert experience dovetailed with the first album I bought with my own money — Funkadelic’s Cosmic Slop. I saw them when they were on a bill with Rare Earth and the headliners, War, at Madison Square Garden. Funkadelic were explosive, a driving spectacle of rock and funk. I’d never seen anything like it before in my life. Eddie Hazel destroying ‘Maggot Brain’ was a standout feature of that show.”

Oasis break records

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val at The Hague in Netherlands.

After taking my first flight in a jet plane and checking in to my first fancy hotel room (while standing next to the legendary Mr. Dizzy Gillespie), I witnessed Muddy Waters’ All-Star Blues featuring Pinetop Perkins on piano, James Cotton on harp and Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy on second guitar. It was an incredible show, the spirit of blues boogie made fully manifest. Muddy Waters was in top form, and the band was on fire. This still remains the greatest show I ever had the privilege to attend.”

SOUNDGARDEN, HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM, NEW YORK CITY, 2012

“Soundgarden is my favorite band of early Nineties era other than my own — we were both Lollapalooza alumni. Like Living Colour, Soundgarden also had a breakup and hiatus.

King Animal marked their triumphant return, and the Hammerstein Ballroom show did not disappoint. Chris Cornell was in full, glorious voice, and Kim Thayil, one of my favorite electric iconoclasts, was on fire. Drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepard epically navigated the odd times and tunings of their alt/metal/prog music that still moves me so powerfully. ‘The Day I Tried to Live’ gave me solace at a dark time in my life. It was the last time I would see Chris Cornell live.”

David Gilmour performs with a reunited Pink Floyd at Live 8 London, July 2, 2005

JOE BONAMASSA

DICKEY BETTS/GREGG ALLMAN, COLEMAN’S, ROME, NY, 1983

“My first concert was the Dickey Betts Band opening for Gregg Allman’s solo band at Coleman’s in Rome, New York. It was in the summer of 1983. I was 6 and my father snuck me in. [It was] a life-changing event. Warren Haynes was on guitar with Dickey, and Dan Toler played guitar for Gregg. It was the first time I saw a sunburst Les Paul played in anger. The first time I saw real pros.”

B.B. KING, HAMPTON BEACH CASINO BALLROOM, HAMPTON, NH, 1991

Steve Vai shows us how bad his horsie really is LONDON ASTORIA, 2001

THE GRAMMY-WINNING virtuoso’s first live release remains a fan favorite to this day.

Filmed at the fabled Astoria venue in London’s West End, it arrived surprisingly late in his career, long after his stints in Whitesnake and David Lee Roth’s band, and following the stretch of Nineties albums that cemented his stature as the master of artful shred guitar.

For “Bad Horsie,” the opening track from his 1995 Alien Love Secrets EP, he walked out onto a dark stage beaming light out of his headset, with red lasers shooting from each finger dancing across his LED fretboard. Playing up to his own eccentricities, looking and sounding like a robot overlord from a long-distant galaxy,

it would be one of the most inspired performances in this visionary’s storied career.

Opeth unleash double trouble

SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE, 2003

WHAT’S MORE IMPRESSIVE than performing your newest album in full? Performing both your new albums in full — which is precisely why Opeth had this evening in the UK capital recorded for their first live release. And it was the juxtaposition of those records, the first set being comprised of the cleaner, more progressive rock-leaning ideas of Damnation and the second built from its nightmarishly heavy sister album, Deliverance, that made for a most historic night. The Lamentations

“I opened the show for Mr. King, who was on fire this particular night. He was 66 and still as vibrant as he was when he recorded Live at the Regal [in 1964]. His singing and playing on ‘The Letter’ were so soulful that I started weeping. It was the first time I ever cried because of music. I was 13 years old and forever changed.”

DANNY GATTON, JOHNNY D’S, BOSTON, 1990

“The greatest display of Americana guitar playing I have ever seen in my life. Danny had invited me to sit in on that mini run he was doing on the East Coast. He had his ’53 Telecaster, a modified Vibrolux and a Super Reverb. I have never witnessed any type of musician with such mastery and command of an instrument. He personified the idea that putting in the work pays off. He also loved the gear. He inspired me to be a nerd like him.” guitarworld.com

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TALKING HEADS, ORPHEUM THEATRE, BOSTON, 1980

“This was the new, expanded Remain in Lightera nine-member band. It was Fela Kuti and PFunk go to art school. What I wasn’t prepared for was Adrian Belew. They slowly expanded the band through the first few songs, unleashing Adrian at the end of ‘Psycho Killer.’ Guitar as a pure sound source — but under complete control of the operator. I had never seen or heard anyone do that. I went home that night and stared at my Stratocaster leaning against the wall. How and what the fuck was Adrian thinking? Mind blown.”

GRETCHEN MENN

JEFF BECK, TEMPE MUSIC FESTIVAL, TEMPE, AZ, 2006

S N R E F D E R / N R E F D E R D I VAD :T H G I R

“I was surprised to find myself unsuccessfully suppressing tears at a rock show. Though almost everyone I admire waxes poetic about Jeff Beck’s playing, I hadn’t been able to fully get into it… until I experienced it live. I can only describe it as stunning, bordering on spiritual.

Beyond his legendary phrasing, dynamics, breadth of sonic expression, raw emotion and fearlessness, his characteristic magic and mojo is something difficult to describe and must be appreciated live. Now having seen at least a half dozen Jeff Beck shows, I’ve learned I’m not alone in being moved to tears when he plays ‘A Day in the Life.’”

DANIELE GOTTARDO, GUITARE EN SCÈNE, SAINT-JULIEN-EN-GENEVOIS, FRANCE, 2016

C N I , C I G A M M L I F / Z T I VA R K F F E J : T F E L

“This is a huge guitar celebration in an idyllic location. In 2016, Carlos Santana and Joe Satriani headlined, and an array of guitar heroes were on the bill, including Daniele Gottardo. Daniele’s music is intricate and virtuosic, distinctive in that he blends electric guitar with chamber orchestra. Knowing him as I do — he’s my best friend, hero and, as of 2019, my husband — I’ve seen the brilliance but also the struggles and sacrifices that go into his work. To watch him perform so powerfully under conditions he and his music merit was profoundly beautiful.”

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release would mark a turning point in the Swedish group’s career, transforming them from an underground obscurity to worldbeating masters of the extreme.

custom-built purple symbol guitar, all while the heavens opened above him. Truly one of the most astonishing performances in guitar history.

LIVE 8, 2005

LONDON O2 ARENA, 2007

Pink Floyd reunite for one last time

THOUGH IN RETROSPECT it didn’t quite

Led Zeppelin remind us of their genius

WILL THE AHMET Ertegun Tribute Concert end up being the last time we see the surviving members of Led Zeppelin on stage together? Quite possibly. “I knew it was going to sell out quickly, but the tidal wave of euphoria that preceded the gig — the anticipation — went beyond what I could possibly have imagined,” said Jimmy Page after the event. “We’d had a few shambolic appearances in the past, like Live Aid, so if we were ever going to come back together, we were going to do it properly and stand up Prince literally and be counted.” Which is precisely what makes it rain they did, thundering their way through DOLPHIN STADIUM, 2007 songs like “Ramble On,” “Trampled Under THE HEAVY RAIN that fell over Miami Foot,” “No Quarter” and “Kashmir” (and ahead of the Super Bowl XLI halftime show let’s not forget “For Your Life”!) with John left its organizers and attendees fearing Bonham’s son, Jason, behind the kit. the worst. When asked if the tumultuous

have the same overall fanfare as the original Live Aid concert of 1985, this event of two decades later was especially notable for one major reason — it saw Pink Floyd’s classic lineup of David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright taking the stage for the first time since 1981. Sadly, it would also be the last time, following Wright’s death a few years later.

weather conditions were going to be a problem ahead of his set, Prince simply requested, “Can you make it rain harder?”

As fate would have it, the Purple One rose to the challenge and then some, delivering a 12-minute medley of originals and covers ending with “Purple Rain.” “Can I play this guitar?” he asks the masses gathered around his stage, before tearing into that instantly recognizable G minor solo on his

Jeff Beck gets up close and personal RONNIE SCOTT’S, 2007

WHEN IT COMES to improvisation, Jeff Beck has always been in a class of his own.

His tours in the mid Seventies performing newer material from Blow by Blow and Wired marveled in sheer ambition, moving

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“This pretty intense night began with Larry Coryell/Alphonse Mouzon followed by the Lenny White band with guitarists Jamie Glaser and Joaquin Lieviano. Al Di Meola sat in for two epic songs. Daryl Stuermer was the guitarist in Jean-Luc Ponty’s band, and I thought, ‘After all that awesomeness, I wouldn’t want to be in Daryl’s shoes.’ I needn’t have worried for him: He was the picture of grace, fire and elegance, owning the bandstand and the night. I learned three things that night: Always be true to yourself as a soloist. Count on the fire. And never underestimate Daryl Stuermer.

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Half-time is Prince time in Miami, February 4, 2007

REEVES GABRELS

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Burnt Offerings

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MONTEREY STRATOCASTER AND OTHER GUITARS THAT JIMI HENDRIX SET AFIRE? BY ERIC KIRKLAND

IT’S PROBABLY THE most iconic image of Jimi Hendrix, kneeling in ritual over a sacrificial Stratocaster, beckoning the flames upward and pausing only to squirt more Ronson lighter fuel onto the pickguard ablaze. In an era when oneupmanship and headlines were sometimes more important than musicianship, Hendrix was looking for a way to outdo his axesmashing rival, Pete Townshend. Jimi is known to have definitely performed the stunt twice, and at least three guitars are part and parcel to the stories. The first time was March 31, 1967, at the Astoria show in Finsbury Park, London — three months before the fabled June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. The 1965 Stratocaster was apparently soaked in lighter fuel, and the resulting meter-high flames landed Hendrix in the hospital with burns on both hands. That charred guitar sold at auction for a whopping £280,000 on September 4, 2008. It was a tidy sum but still far less than the $1.8 million fetched for Hendrix’s Woodstock Strat.

Some controversy still surrounds the Astoria guitar, which is currently owned by American collector Daniel Boucher, with

some who believe the actual Strat was the sunburst Fender given by Hendrix to Frank Zappa at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival, now owned and played by Frank’s son, Dweezil.

There’s further evidence that suggests Jimi burned guitars at several other shows prior to the Miami festival and that the Zappa Strat may very well have resulted from one of those performances.

The Monterey Stratocasters included the black guitar Jimi famously used on “Hey Joe,” reported to be one of his favorites, and the white/multicolored Strat that he actually set afire during his “Wild Thing” crescendo. The burned guitar sold at auction November 27, 2012, for £237,000.

The black guitar was supposedly retained for decades by one of the record label managers and was intended to be offered at a Beverly Hills auction in 2017, but it was ultimately pulled because of concerns over its authenticity. Many years after Hendrix’s untimely death on September 18, 1970, Townshend set the record straight on their competitive stage antics, philosophically stating, “For me, it was an act. For him, it was something else. It was an extension of what he was doing.”

was then-21-year-old Australian bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, who joined Beck’s live band at the suggestion of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.

Truth be told, these are some of the finest versions of “Scatterbrain,” “Led Boots,” and – of course – “’Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” to ever see release.

Guthrie Govan brings down the Albert Hall ROYAL ALBERT HALL, 2013 Jeff Beck and Tal Wilkenfeld perform at Ronnie Scott’s in London, November 27, 2007

away from the blues roots of his past and into more jazz-rock territory. That said, in more recent years, it was his five-night residency at London’s intimate Ronnie Scott’s venue that became one of his most talked-about performances — documented by the live release that came out the following year. Adding to the wow-factor

PROGRESSIVE ROCK MASTERMIND Ste-

ven Wilson recruited Guthrie Govan for his third solo album, The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories), so it made sense to have the world-renowned virtuoso on stage with him for the tours that followed.

The new material was more fusion-led than anything Wilson had put his name to at the time, therefore allowing plenty of opportunities for Govan’s genius to shine through.

His leads during “Luminol,” “The Holy Drinker” and “Drive Home” were nothing short of magnificent — perhaps even the most tasteful of his career to date. Though Govan and drummer Marco Minnemann would soon bow out of that band in order to

greatest live performances

NITA STRAUSS

IN FLAMES, THE WILTERN, LOS ANGELES, 2004

“I was 17, freshly off my first few weekend runs and summer tours with my band at the time when In Flames came through LA with Killswitch Engage, who were about to release The End of Heartache. Both bands were incredible, but when In Flames started their set with those incredible dueling guitar harmonies, my heart was just beating out of my chest. I had never heard guitar tones sound that huge on stage! Sounds crazy, but I was almost in tears at the sheer energy and power in the room that night.”

QUEEN, FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY, 2020

“This was actually one of the last shows I performed at. I was in Australia with Alice Cooper, and we joined a charity bill at the last minute to support bushfire relief efforts. Queen was the headliner that day. I had been friendly with Brian May’s guitar tech before our set, and when Queen went on, he let me sit side stage with him. Those guys keep their amps loud! So hearing Brian May’s soulful, melodic playing so close was unreal. I felt the rush of the audience singing along to the melodies of his guitar solos wash over me, and it really solidified just why those songs, those solos are so iconic.”

STEVE STEVENS

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, 1973

“This was my first real concert. I went with my best friends, and as soon as we entered the arena, the smell of ‘wacky tabacky’ was overwhelming. We felt like we were among our people, our tribe. The show was on a massive scale for its time: quadraphonic sound. ELP were the first band to use an actual lighting truss with rear projection. They were supporting Brain Salad Surgery, and the concert was the perfect combination of mind-numbing musicianship and big-time showmanship.

Watching these guys from England do their thing was like seeing Martians who had just landed on stage.”

YES, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, 1974

“Touring behind Tales from Topographic Oceans, Yes presented themselves on a grand scale with lighting designed by their album artist, Roger Dean. I had waited since 1972 to see my favorite guitarist, Steve Howe, and I had learned much of his music, so I was glued to him. He really was the ultimate rock guitarist. The band sounded incredible — you could hear every note. I remember shaking my head in disbelief at how damn good they were. They opened to a tape of Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite.’ To this day, hearing the finale of that piece brings me right back to being a 14-year-old kid, thinking, ‘One day… I will play that stage.’” guitarworld.com

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PRINCE, THE RITZ, NEW YORK CITY, 1980

“I didn’t know who Prince was, but my manager at the time, Bill Aucoin, got me a ticket and said, ‘Go see this guy.’ As I got up to the balcony of the Ritz, I saw Mick Jagger and Tina Turner at a table. I thought, ‘Wow. Who the hell is this guy?’

Out came this little dynamo — black trench coat and men’s panties. Girls were screaming and going wild. By the second song, ‘Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?,’ I was speechless. I knew I was witnessing greatness. His band was powerful, as well — guitarist Dez Dickerson played his ass off. Over the years, I saw Prince many times, but that first time felt like I was watching something historic.”

ERIC BURTON (BLACK PUMAS) RICHIE HAVENS, WOODSTOCK, 1969

“[The performance of] Richie Havens doing a cover of the Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’ Anytime I get to revisit Richie, it’s always very special. I love guitarists for their originality in how they elevate songs in their playing. Richie took an unorthodox disposition to strumming the chords of the song while also adding his own chords to the mix for an exceedingly original rendition of a popular song we’re used to hearing a certain way.”

ADRIAN QUESADA (BLACK PUMAS)

GUNS N’ ROSES, LIVE AT THE RITZ, 1988

“I was too young to watch it when it aired on MTV, but I somehow knew about it, tuned in live and made a night of it on my parents’ TV. GNR were still an up-and-coming band playing a small club, and they performed the most amazing badass roll shit I’d ever seen on TV. I always thought Slash was cool, but that night I was fixated on Izzy Stradlin. He was the coolest dude on stage, playing the coolest riffs. He was more subdued than the rest of the band, but he also looked like he’d cut you with a switchblade.”

MARC RIBOT, SESSIONS AT WEST 54TH

“A short-lived show in the late Nineties/early 2000s, Sessions at West 54th turned me on to a lot of music that was not on my radar in those days. I remember seeing Marc Ribot on at least two episodes — with his own Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos, and playing lead guitar with Chocolate Genius. Ribot was at the intersection of everything I loved as a guitarist — avantgarde jazz, Latin music, rock, blues – and I became a huge fan instantly. He was the weirdest guitarist I had ever seen on TV, and he opened my world to all kinds of different music.”

RICKY BYRD

THE ROLLING STONES, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, 1975

“This is the tour in which they had the ‘lotus flower’ stage that opened to form a star. At the start of the show, the first thing you heard was the cowbell to ‘Honky Tonk Women,’ followed

by Charlie Watts’ snare that led into Keith Richards’ guitar riff. Slowly, the flower petals started to open, and there was Mick Jagger hanging on to one of the points of the star. I

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focus on the Aristocrats, the guitarist would later return to the Albert Hall for a handful of tracks with Wilson in 2015.

Put Me in, Coachella!

Angus Young meets GNR INDIO, CALIFORNIA, 2016

2016 WAS A big year in terms “guitar events.” You had Guns N’ Roses’ Not in This Lieftime... tour featuring Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan — and AC/DC’s Axlfronted tour (Rose was filling in for Brian Johnson, who was sidelined by issues with his hearing). The event that tied them both together, however, took place that April 16, when AC/DC’s Angus Young joined GNR on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The eternal schoolboy put his all into “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Riff Raff,” while Axl (who was still in his Dave Grohlowned “recovery throne”) nailed the songs’ Bon Scott-era vocals. Yeah, 2016 was kinda cool!

Talkin’ ’bout my Generation Axe...

SEATTLE, 2016

DID SOMEONE MENTION 2016? As the fates would have it, that’s also the year the mighty Generation Axe tour went from some deranged shred fan’s dream journal to full-on reality. The tour — which combined Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi — made its debut in Seattle that April 5 and then went on to conquer the world. The lineup provided some bizarre pairings, like Vai and Yngwie playing Deep Purple’s “Black Star” and everyone (except Tosin) playing Boston’s “Foreplay.” And let’s not forgot the night (May 2) Yngwie’s “guitar toss” didn’t go, um, as planned...

George Lynch pays tribute to Eddie Van Halen DALLAS, 2021

OK, THIS ONE hasn’t quite reached “iconic” status, but it’s a touching coda. On May 1, during a spontaneous jam, George Lynch (on a slightly out-of-tune Les Paul) honored the late EVH with an out-ofnowhere instrumental performance of Van Halen’s “Aint’ Talkin’ ’Bout Love.” At the end of the performance, Lynch tells the crowd, “In remembrance of our fallen brother, who is one of the greatest inspirations of my personal guitar jourmey,” summing up the thoughts of a generation.

Damian Fanelli, Richard Bienstock, Andy Aledort and Joe Bosso contributed to this feature.

A Texas Flood

I WAS, OF COURSE, BLESSED to grow up in Texas, where there are and have been so many amazing guitar players, so I’m going to keep my focus right there at home.

From my earliest days to last week, I have seen, and continue to see, remarkable talents all around me.

Let’s go into the wayback machine and talk about Rocky Hill, the big brother of my compadre Dusty [Hill, ZZ Top bassist].

Rocky has largely been overlooked as one of the great Texas gun slingers behind the six-string. His playing was mean and deliberate. There wasn’t a day where he picked up a guitar and didn’t mean business. I had the great fortune of inheriting his wonderful rhythm section of Frank Beard, the drummer without a beard, and Dusty on bass. Rocky found a nightspot called Miss Irene’s in Houston’s Fourth Ward, which had been a honky-tonk, and persuaded the proprietor, Miss Irene, to let him do Monday nights. Keith Ferguson (of the Fabulous Thunderbirds) was on bass and it was a rare, delightful and grand moment to get to see Rocky cut loose. Rocky

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Texas-born guitar great T-Bone Walker performs in 1967

still get the chills thinking about it. All of these details are the reasons why I pressed on as a rock ‘n’ roll guitar player. Hard times or flush, I was absolutely committed to my path.”

THE WHO, FOREST HILLS TENNIS STADIUM, FOREST HILLS, NY, 1971

“This tour was for Who’s Next, and the show was filled with tunes from that record as well as all the other great songs you wanted to hear.

Pete smashed his guitar, Roger twirled the mic, the Ox’s bass shook the stadium, and of course, Moon was a madman. I remember Keith jumping on John’s back at the end and doing a tumblesault onto the stage. I still have the tour book from the show.”

REB BEACH

PINK FLOYD, THREE RIVERS STADIUM, PITTSBURGH, 1988

“One of the coolest concerts I ever saw. While we waited for the show, my friend and I heard these weird, metallic noises behind us. The sounds got louder and louder till they were at concert volume. This went on for 10 minutes, and it was freaking me out. Suddenly, the curtain dropped and the band played an awesome song. In the middle of the show, the giant inflatable pigs deflated and dropped to the ground; meanwhile, the band made these falling noises with their instruments. It was freaky.”

THE WHO/THE B-52S/ JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS, TANGERINE BOWL, ORLANDO, 1982

of Live Memories

S N R E F D E R /T E H P R O M S I R H C

Hill doing “Blue Monday” at Miss Irene’s was something you won’t soon forget.

As the curtain is slowly lifting and things begin thawing out from our yearplus-long musical freeze, I recently had the pleasure of hearing B3 organ master Mike Flanigin, who is in the Jungle Show with me and Jimmie Vaughan, tear it up with the lovely Sue Foley at Austin’s Sagebrush Lounge. Then, who should happen to get up and join them on stage but Anson Funderburgh, whose particular blues style enters that hallowed realm and lofty regions where the great American art form called the blues goes to another level. Anson and I were sitting on the sideline, and he was just hoping to be a fly on the wall. I urged him to go tear it up and he did. They did a 20-minute rendition of the instrumental track “Don’t Lose Your Cool,” a delight from Albert Collins, and once they got it going it was hard to get the car pulled to the curb. It was fierce!

Having grown up in Texas, I had the opportunity to see a plethora of truly fantastic, wholly original blues guitarists

by B i l ly G i b b o n s

from all over the state during my formative playing years. Freddie King was from up north in Dallas, Albert Collins was in Houston and Gatemouth Brown was from the Gulf Coast. Each of them was mind-bending each time I could see them — and see them I did. Seeing those guys was great inspiration. Their playing styles were just as inspirational as anyone, and they were so unique that every performance showed how it was possible to do your own thing. That also includes the granddaddy of them all, T-Bone Walker, from down in the Beaumont area.

Even today, years and years after TBone’s passing, there are guitar players — including me! — trying to figure out how he created those remarkable sounds and licks while his guitar was lying flat in front of him. And, of course, T-Bone could do it behind his back, doing splits on the floor, standing straight, whatever.

[He was] a fretboard genius who never failed to inspire and remains a delightful force to this day.

— AS TOLD TO ALAN PAUL

“I’ll never forget seeing the Who when they had the B-52s opening — one of the worst pairings of bands ever. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were also on the bill, and they rocked hard, which might be why the B-52s weren’t appreciated. I liked the B-52s, but apparently nobody else did. The crowd booed and threw fruit and vegetables on stage. Where they got fruit and vegetables, I have no idea, but the stage was covered with the stuff. The band had to stop playing after two songs. I had never seen something like that happen before.”

JIMMY JAMES (DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO)

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS, THE MOORE THEATER, SEATTLE 2016

“I saw Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings many times in Seattle because they were my musical heroes of modern soul music. I slowly got to know them and tell them what they meant to me, especially guitarists Tommy ‘TNT’ Brenneck and Binky Griptite (who backed Amy Winehouse on Back to Black with the Dap-Kings), and about the impact they had on me when it comes to soul/funk in today’s era. This night was particularly special and bittersweet, because Sharon invited me up to sing to me, but she also had me sit in and play with them. It’s not often musicians get to say they got to play alongside their heroes. The bittersweet part is that it was Sharon Jones’ last big performance in Seattle before her unfortunate passing a few months later [November 18, 2016].” guitarworld.com

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On the Road Again?

PAUL GILBERT, the Eagles’ VINCE GILL and Zepparella’s GRETCHEN MENN discuss a shift from boring to touring

By JOE BOSSO LATE WINTER OF 2020 proved to be the great

equalizer in the music business. For artists everywhere, whether they were weekend warriors playing in bar bands, name acts packing large clubs or mid-sized concert halls, or superstars plotting stadium treks across the globe, the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it the same sobering message: The show won’t, in fact, go on. One by one, itineraries were scuttled, music festivals were called off, and by the first weeks of spring the curtain came down on the entire concert industry.

“I think it’s an understatement to say it’s been a tough year,” says Eagles guitarist and country music star Vince Gill. “It’s been hard on people throughout the music business. A lot of people are hurting and struggling. On a personal level, I lost my best friend, Benny Garcia, who was also my guitar tech. He was my first music friend; we came up together and he’s taken care of me on the road for 30 years. Losing him was brutal.”

Gill notes that the forced work stoppage has been the first time he hasn’t played live on a consistent basis since he was a teenager. “It’s a mind-bender to be off the road,” he says. “From the day I started doing this, I’ve been clubbing, playing, touring — in whatever capacity I’ve been involved with, I’ve never stopped. So to go from 100 mph to zero has been strange.”

On the Road Again?

Mr. Big’s Eric Martin [left] and Paul Gilbert perform in Norway, November 3, 2017

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For Paul Gilbert, who was forced to cancel solo shows and his 2020 Great Guitar Escape, one of the toughest aspects of the pandemic has been the loss of a direct connection to fans during concerts. “I definitely miss the energy of human beings in the same room, where we all have big grins on our faces,” he says. “Those magical moments of improvisation where I play better than I thought I could, they’re all because somebody is there to hear it.”

Gretchen Menn, guitarist for the allfemale Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella, saw her band’s gigs grind to a halt.

Echoing Gilbert’s sentiments, she says, “I miss playing shows. There is so much beauty in the unpredictability of live situations. The possibilities for inspiration and enrichment are everywhere.”

There’s reason for optimism, however.

With a host of vaccines now readily available and lockdown restrictions loosening, there’s widespread hope that large-scale concerts in the U.S. could return as early as midsummer. Although Gilbert hasn’t scheduled any live dates as of this writing, his Great Guitar Escape: Shrapnel and Beyond is happening in July, and Zepparella have added some August and September shows to their calendar. Similarly, the Eagles are returning to the stage in August.

“I’m excited to get back to it,” says Gill, who adds with a laugh, “but in a funny kind of way I’m also apprehensive — I know how rusty I’ll be!”

You’ve all mentioned what you miss about playing live, but there must be things you don’t miss about touring.

What’s been the biggest adjustment for you during COVID?

GILL: The whole thing has been an adjustment. While it’s great to be home, there’s elements of the performing life you can’t get

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anywhere else. You certainly can’t get them sitting in front of the damn television. I’ve watched every episode of Two and a Half Men over the last year and a half. On the other hand, my golf game is a lot better than it used to be. [Laughs] GILBERT: My year was looking impossibly busy, and my life has been impossibly busy for years, so I decided it was a good time to put some projects on hold and just focus on my online school. It gave me a chance to catch up with my family, as well. I have a young son, so I’m happy to spend more time with him. My online guitar school has really taken off. I used to be able to keep up with my students’ video exchanges by doing an average of three videos per day. That has doubled. I’m glad to have musical interaction every day.

MENN: The biggest adjustment has been spending so much time in the same place. It’s lovely to be home, but it’s also weird. This is the highest number of consecutive nights I’ve spent in the same bed since I was four.

Where were you when you got word that you had to cancel touring plans?

GILBERT: I was home, getting ready for a lot of different projects. I put everything on hold and started to make a lot of pancakes and fresh orange juice.

MENN: I was at home, learning material and getting ready for upcoming shows — both with Zepparella and a corporate gig.

GILL: The Eagles had just played in Houston, and we were set to play Dallas three days later. I had come home from Houston and that’s when I heard that we’d be down for the spring. The general assumption was that we could rebook everything for the fall of 2020, but a month and a half later everybody said, “No, this year’s toast.” So it went from a few months to six months to… whenever.

When you realized touring was off for the foreseeable future, did you immediately set a new musical agenda for yourself —

live streams, remote recording, that kind of thing?

GILL: I’ve done a bit of it. Everybody was kind of jonesing for anything that felt like someone playing live, even if it was just over your iPhone and you posted it somewhere. I did quite a few of those for charity.

And I’ve also played at the Grand Ole Opry.

For 95 years, they’ve had continuous performances on Saturday nights, so I was honored to keep that tradition alive. There was me, Marty Stuart and Brad Paisley very far apart on acoustic guitars, with nobody in the house — we played for the radio show.

It was kind of weird to finish a song and not hear any applause; it kind of reminded me of the old days.

GILBERT: I did a bunch of shows on StageIt. It took some research to get the technical stuff together. I had to figure out the OBS app, how to configure multiple cameras, how to dial in the lighting and sound, and how to press the right buttons at the right time. After several shows I started getting a handle on it. Oh, yeah, and I had to play guitar, sing the songs, stomp on my kick drum box with my left foot and memorize a couple of 35-song medleys. But it was a good way to perform music, and I enjoyed it a lot. I’d like to do more StageIt shows, but I took a break to work on my new album.

MENN: The music industry is multifaceted enough that live shows, as important as they are, are only one component. Livestreams started happening almost immediately, and collaborations, remote recordings, demos and providing educational materials have helped fill in the financial cracks. Restrictions can often force creative solutions, and this has been an opportunity to explore other areas of music more deeply.

Jennifer Batten contacted me a few months into the lockdown with her idea for an online guitar camp, the Guitar Cloud Symposium. The first installment was in August 2020 with Jennifer, Nili Brosh, Vicki Genfan and me. It’s been steadily growing, with

S E GA M I Y T T E G / N O S L E D U D TTOCS :SOTO H P H T O B

PAUL GILBERT: I don’t miss airports, airplanes, buses, vans, hotels, trying to find healthy food and getting my laundry done.

Those things can make you grouchy after a few decades. Sleeping in my own bed for nearly a year is something I don’t take for granted. It’s kind of spectacular.

GRETCHEN MENN: I don’t miss sketchy hotels with malfunctioning AC, delayed flights, crack-of-dawn call times. I don’t miss filthy or non-existent dressing rooms, and I’d be fine never again having to work with a sound engineer with a terrible attitude. But those are also the aspects of touring that build character and keep you flexible. They help you work on your patience.

VINCE GILL: Time away from home is never easy. It’s a trade-off. If you’re a musician, you love what you do. But time home is time home, and nothing feels better than that.

[left, from left] The Eagles’ Vince Gill, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and Don Henley on stage in Inglewood, California, in September 2018; [right] Zepparella’s Gretchen Menn performs in Malibu in May 2017

On the Road Again?

Portland, and it came out really great.

Without live shows, it seems as if people are paying more attention to artists’ recordings. Do you think this renewed interest in recorded work will last?

GILL: It’s interesting. People aren’t buy-

ing records per se anymore. Streaming services are good, but they’re inadequate in terms of what you can make. That stuff is evolving, and I think it’ll get better. But for the past few years, live shows are where we make money, and that’s why people have been playing live so much. Because of that, recorded work took a back seat. Will things flip around? I don’t know. If I could foresee the future, I’d be doing a lot better than I am. [Laughs] The estimates are that artists can return to touring at some point this year. Is that what you’re hearing?

GILBERT: I’ve got my guitar camp, The

guitarists like Angela Petrilli, Daniele Gottardo, Jude Gold, Mark Lettieri and others coming aboard to teach.

Have these big blocks of free time given you a chance to explore new aspects of your own music that you couldn’t if you were on the road?

GILL: Sure. There’s two ways to go about life — with a positive spin or a negative spin, and a negative spin doesn’t do anybody any good. I’ve kept myself busy in the studio, and I’ve done some work on a bunch of people’s records. I could claim that I haven’t really done anything in a year and a half, but that’s not the case. I’m always grabbing a guitar when I see one in a room. I’m writing a few songs here and there.

MENN: I made a commitment at the beginning of all this to use the time in a way that my future self would appreciate. So I’ve been working on growing as a musician, focusing on weak or underdeveloped areas of my playing, composing another solo album, reading more books. Not only do I want to be a better musician, but I also want to be a better human.

GILBERT: I did some rethinking about how to make my new album. My original plan was to record with a band live in the studio, but since the lockdown I decided to try playing all the instruments myself. I’ve always loved playing drums, and I had the best time in the world bashing away with a pair of sticks. The album is called Werewolves of

Great Guitar Escape, scheduled for July. I’m aiming at that — optimistically.

MENN: I’ve heard all sorts of estimations, and at this point I’m not even trying to guess. I’m confident that humans will roll with whatever happens and make the best of it. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we’re adaptable and resilient creatures.

GILL: The hard thing about touring is how long it takes to set it up. You can’t just announce, “Hey, I’m going to be in Moline in two weeks.” You’ve got to plan six, nine months in advance, and the way things are going, nobody can put a timeline on when it’s really going to be OK to work. You might think it’s this year, but Broadway isn’t opening up till spring of 2022. The same fate might be for us, but I think most people are assuming fall.

Have you given thought as to how you’d like to tour again? Some artists have played drive-in shows the past year.

MENN: I’ll be happy when we can rehearse

again. [Laughs] I think the most likely case is we’ll start with our favorite local venues and branch out from there.

GILBERT: It’ll be difficult for a show to be stranger than the guitar clinics I’ve done in Chinese discotheques. I’m ready for anything.

Vince, your situation is different. You have your solo career but you’re also part of the Eagles.

GILL: Yeah, it’s a unique situation. When the Eagles dates got rescheduled last year for the fall of 2021, anything I would do solowise would obviously be around that. I can’t fathom anything happening before that. So I don’t look at the calendar and go, “Hey, I could go out this summer.” That feels unre-

alistic. Solo-wise, it’s probably 2022. I’ve always tried to make the best use of my time when I knew I didn’t have an Eagles date.

I’d go out and do some dates on my own.

At first, venues might be required to operate at less-than-half capacity. As a performer who’s used to full houses, is that going to be tough?

MENN: I imagine I’ll be so elated to be on

stage with my bandmates that I’ll be grateful for anyone who is there to share the experience with us.

GILBERT: [Laughs] Empty seats strike fear in the heart of any performer, but I’ve played casino showrooms where all the seats are big, wide booths. People were spread out, and we all still rocked just fine.

GILL: For me, the mind-bender is the economics. I mean, if you’re playing the Ryman, and that’s a 2,200-seat hall, the first 1,800 people are the break-even people. It’s the next core 500 seats where everybody makes a little bit of money. The math gets simple.

The price of diesel fuel doesn’t go in half just because 40 percent of the people came to the shows. So it’s going to be hard to see it have a chance to work, financially, at that mindset. It’ll be interesting to watch. Now, I do think things will come back, but it might not be all at once.

What are you hearing from fans? Are they ready to be at your gigs whenever it’s safe to come out again?

MENN: It sure seems so. I think some form of

“When are you going to be playing live?” is the most common question I’ve been asked over these past months.

GILBERT: I’ve heard from people who miss going to live shows. I’m fortunate to have an audience that comes for the music instead of a wild drinking party, so I think people will have their wits about them, and they’ll use caution when necessary. I’ll plan carefully before I add any George Thorogood songs to the set. [Laughs] I actually love George Thorogood. But that might get the place going a little too crazy. My guitar music will be filled with emotion, but it’ll still be complex enough to keep people from bouncing into each other.

GILL: I think the fans will be more than ready. People are hoping to get back to all the aspects of their lives, and that includes live music. That’s a good incentive for me. There have been times lately that I’ve noticed a little bit of a slowdown in my hands. I’ll go, “I’m not quite up to speed with what my brain is telling me.” Putting in the work will be fun, though. There’s nothing like repetition that creates what you need. In the grand scheme, it might make us all play a little bit less, which would be much more palatable. [Laughs] guitarworld.com

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Black Veil Brides’ Jinxx [left] and Jake Pitts

THEPHANTOM ZONE

BLACK VEIL BRIDES RETURN WITH THE PHANTOM TOMORROW, THEIR FIRST FULL-LENGTH ALBUM IN THREE YEARS. GUITARISTS JAKE PITTS AND JINXX BRING GUITAR WORLD INSIDE THEIR UNIVERSE FOR A CLOSE LOOK AT WHY THE NEW ALBUM MIGHT JUST BE THEIR “BEST WORK YET.”

BY JEFF KITTS

PHOTOS BY JOSHUA SHULTZ

GW 69

GW 70

BLACK VEIL BRIDES, the fashionable metalcore outfit

from Hollywood, California, has been taking it on the chin since the group made its mainstream splash in 2010 with its debut album, We Stitch These Wounds. Guitar World has been actively championing Black Veil Brides since the group’s early days, and has had numerous discussions with guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinxx throughout the years about the band’s polarizing nature. In a 2013 Guitar World interview, Jinxx commented: “Nikki Sixx is a friend of ours.

And he told us, ‘You guys get a lot of love, you get a lot of hate. But you know what? Mötley Crüe got the same hate back in the day. You’re going through exactly what we went through when we did Shout at the Devil. So just keep doing what you’re doing.’ ” Give Black Veil Brides credit for doing exactly that: staying committed to their craft and true to their mission (and loyal to their hair products and makeup brands) despite often serving as a hard rock punching bag. As evidenced by the runaway success of “Scarlet Cross,” the rousing first single from the band’s newest album, The Phantom Tomorrow, BVB is enjoying the combination of validation and success that only comes with dedication and perseverance.

“It’s so hard to tell right now because we’re all still kind of in our own bubbles because of the pandemic, but sometimes I wonder if the band is actually getting bigger through all of this,” says Pitts. “The fact that so many people are getting to hear ‘Scarlet Cross’ and so many new people are discovering the band is really an amazing thing. It’s almost hard to believe that after 10-plus years in this business, we’re just now starting to get attention from radio — I’m kind of in awe about it.”

Black Veil Brides — which currently consists of Pitts along with co-guitarist and violinist Jinxx, vampirish vocalist Andy Biersack, drummer Christian Coma and bassist Lonny Eagleton — took the opportunity afforded to them by the pandemic to spend the majority of 2020 creating The Phantom Tomorrow. “We certainly weren’t making any money during the past year [Laughs],” says Jinxx, “but the pandemic gave us the time to make the record we really wanted to make.”

Pitts and Jinxx have established themselves as one of the most formidable guitar tandems in rock, and that symbiotic relationship is in full effect on The Phantom Tomorrow, a thick, lush, hard-rocking affair positively brimming with wicked solos, dual harmonies, chugging riffs and layers upon layers of stringed flourishes either from guitars or Jinxx’s violin. Guitar World recently caught up with the dark duo to discuss Black Veil Brides’ return to the rock forefront and the making of The Phantom Tomorrow, which Jinxx proudly hails as “our best work yet.”

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It’s been 11 years since the release of the first Black Veil Brides album, We Stitch These Wounds, and in that time, the music industry has changed dramatically. Would you say it’s more difficult to make money in the music business now compared to a decade ago?

JAKE PITTS Music is just consumed in dif-

ferent ways these days — it’s all Apple Music and Spotify and other streaming services. So unless you’re selling like a million albums each time out, you’re not really making any money with sales anymore. It’s crazy to think that we make music for a living and yet that’s really not where we make any money.

JINXX Artists just aren’t making what they should be making off of streams. Even if we were able to get one penny from every stream, it would be a significant amount of money, but we’re not getting that. You have to be more creative these days — like putting out elaborate vinyl packages and things like that — and luckily for us, the merchandise has always helped us pay the bills.

PITTS That’s true. Even early on, we had such huge support from our fans, and people just ate up the merchandise — before we even put out our first album, we had two T-shirts in Hot Topic. So that was what allowed us to go out on the road and support ourselves — not because we had a record deal with a huge advance or anything like that. It was because of our merchandise sales.

Being a decade older than when you first started in this band must give you a different perspective on things as well.

PITTS Definitely — it’s very different now.

We’ve been in this band for more than 10 years, and you can change and grow a lot in that amount of time. It’s crazy to think that, at this point, this band has made up about a third of my life. When we first started out, we were just having a lot of fun — just non-stop touring and playing shows and drinking. But it’s just different now — we’re all married, we’re more mature, some of us have kids, etc.

JINXX Your priorities change over time. I

became a dad last October. I’m very grateful for all of those experiences that I had when I was younger, because without them I wouldn’t have all these stories that I have — and that we have — now, and I wouldn’t be where I am today. So I’m just very thankful and way more humble now than when I was a cocky 20-year-old.

Take us back to March 2020. What was the immediate impact of the pandemic on the band and the making of the new album, The Phantom Tomorrow?

PITTS Before the pandemic happened, we

had to make some changes and figure out how we were going to continue on and move forward, and so we got Lonnie Eagleton in the band playing bass [replacing the departed Ashley Purdy — Ed.], and then we started talking about putting out some new music to excite our fans again and let people know that we were still here. So in November 2019 we put out The Night, an EP with two songs, “Saints of the Blood” and “The Vengeance,” and we went right from that to recording Re-Stitch These Wounds, which was a re-recording to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our first album, We Stitch These Wounds. It was a fun experience, getting to relive that album and make it sound a little bit more like how we envisioned it originally. So the whole plan for 2020 into 2021 was to tour, and at some point along the way we knew we would have to figure out a way to make a new album. We played one insane, sold-out show in Mexico City on March 6, 2020, and it was actually one of the most fun shows any of us had ever played — it felt like we were just starting out again. After that show we flew home, and we were going to have maybe two weeks of rehearsals before going out on tour with In This Moment, but within a day or two of us getting back home, everything shut down. We thought that maybe things would get postponed for a month or two — but here we are a year later, and we still guitarworld.com

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“IT’S CRAZY TO THINK THAT WE MAKE MUSIC FOR A LIVING AND YET THAT’S REALLY NOT WHERE WE MAKE ANY MONEY” — JAKE PITTS

Jake Pitts with his signature Schecter E-1

BACK TO THE FUTURE

JAKE PITTS RECALLS HIS MOMENT AS A GUITAR WORLD COVER BOY

W

ITH ITS SEPTEMBER 2011 issue, Guitar World went out on a limb and proclaimed BLACK VEIL BRIDES and ASKING ALEXANDRIA to be “The Future of Hard Rock,” even going so far as to feature one member of each group on that month’s cover. Given the mass success of each band over the past decade, we like to think our prediction was accurate.

Here, BVB guitarist Jake Pitts recalls the moment he learned that he and Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce were sharing space on a Guitar World cover.

“It’s a funny story actually,” Pitts says.

“We were playing Rock on the Range

Nita Strauss, photographed in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Septemer 8, 2018, with her signature Ibanez guitar, the JIVA10

{continued on page 73}

GW 72 can’t tour. And as hard as this has been for us and every other band out there, you always have to remember how the pandemic has affected all the guitar techs and bus drivers and sound guys and tour managers and lighting guys — all the people who help make a tour happen who ended up losing their jobs because of Covid.

On the plus side of things, we did sign to Sumerian not long before the pandemic hit, and since we had nothing but time on our hands for all of 2020, we used the opportunity to make a new album.

JINXX That’s definitely one of the silver linings in all of this: that we got to spend so much time making this record. If we were out on the road all last year, this album would have ended up being a rush job to get it done. So it’s really exciting to know that we were able to spend so much time writing these songs.

Another silver lining for me personally is that my wife got pregnant right before we were supposed to go out on tour: had I been out on the road, I might have missed my son’s birth. He’s six months old now, and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to spend all this time getting to know him.

How did you go about making The Phantom Tomorrow during the pandemic?

PITTS To be honest, it really didn’t feel too

much different, other than us wearing masks and getting Covid tests during the recording process. What was nice about it this time was that we really had nothing else to focus on other than our families and recording the album — we weren’t worried about having to go out on tour in two weeks or putting off the album so we could rehearse or anything like that. We knew we had to get the album done, but we never felt rushed. It really was one of the most painless recording experiences we’ve ever had — it was actually a lot of fun making it, and we’ve made albums in the past that were difficult to make and not a lot of fun.

JINXX Agreed. We worked in three different studios this time around, and that wasn’t anything new for us, but having all the extra time made it so much more enjoyable. In the past there would be some butting of heads during a recording process, but this time there really wasn’t anything like that. We certainly weren’t making any money during the past year [Laughs], but the pandemic gave us the time to make the record we really wanted to make. But we’re all going to come out of this eventually, and we’ll be back out on the road — you just have to keep looking forward.

“Scarlet Cross,” the first single from The Phantom Tomorrow, debuted in November 2020 and has been very well-received so far.

The video has generated nearly six million views since it premiered, which must give you a tremendous sense of confidence about the new music.

PITTS We’ve had songs played on the radio

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in the past — I think “In the End” was the last song we had that was somewhat played on the radio, and that song did very well for us — and we’ve always thought about how we could make another “In the End” without actually making that same song again.

I really feel that “Scarlet Cross,” even though it’s not anything like “In the End,” is as close to that as we’ve come so far. To see the reception of “Scarlet Cross” is just an amazing feeling, especially when you put your blood, sweat and tears into a song the way we did with that one. The fact that radio stations are giving us the time day finally is kind of surreal, especially when you look back at our career and think that radio never really cared that much about us.

One of the hallmarks of Black Veil Brides’ sound has always been a certain richness that comes as a result of all the musical flourishes and accents that take up much of the space in your songs. Where would you say that approach comes from?

PITTS That’s really just something that I’ve

done over the years — layering. Something that makes songs special and gives them movement is when you have those layers buried and tucked underneath the song. And it doesn’t even necessarily have to be a guitar — it can be a synth part or some programming or a piano or something like that. It’s all about creating texture, basically — and if you were to take those things out, you would notice that the song loses its movement and its sense of excitement. All those little things add to the energy of a song for us.

JINXX You might not notice it all the time, but I added strings to around 90 percent of this record. You can hear it on some songs — the last song on the album, “Fall Eternal,” has an epic string section in it — but in other songs, you wouldn’t know it unless I told you.

I’ve always layered in string parts, but you have to make sure that they are adding something to the song — they can’t get in the way.

You’ve been with Schecter Guitars since 2013: did your signature models serve as the primary guitars during the recording of The Phantom Tomorrow?

PITTS We each have our own signature mod-

els with Schecter, and I’m currently using the Jake Pitts E-1 signature model. They created a hardtail version for me for the purpose of being in the studio and recording, but I also have one with an EverTune bridge, which has been life-changing for me. If you’re a guitar player and you don’t have an EverTune, you should get one. It makes your life so much easier because you’re not re-tuning your guitar every two seconds and retracking parts over and over. Once it’s in tune, it stays there.

JINXX I’ve got around 30 guitars in my house right now. [Laughs] And they’re mostly guitars that I’ve collected over the years, but the truth is that you really only need one good

guitar to record with, and that’s my Schecter Recluse-FR signature model. I’m looking at six of them right now here in my house, and I’ve got each one tuned to a different tuning: standard, dropped-D, dropped-C, droppedC#, dropped-B and dropped-A, just in case I want to write something in a specific key — I can just reach for that guitar and not think about returning.

How has your approach to getting sounds and recording changed over the years?

PITTS I used to have like 14 amp heads at

one point, and I sold all of them, as well as my 4x12 cabs — and some people might see that as unfortunate, getting rid of all that gear, but with technology changing so much in recent years, I now have an Axe-Fx, a Kemper, and I use an incredible amount of plugins for guitar amps. The amp sims have come so far. I mean, I could put a guitar cab in my iso booth and mic it up and spend all this time tweaking the tone and everything, or I can just pull up a plugin and get an insane tone immediately just by opening the plugin. For me, it’s about being able to have a session template, opening it, and immediately start being creative — writing riffs and programming drums that already sound mixed, and when you hear it back in that context, it’s inspiring. It makes your creativity flow so much better rather than wasting the whole day trying to get a cool guitar tone. And I have done that many, many times over the years — I have wasted weeks doing that! But I didn’t get anything out of that — I didn’t write a song because I was spending so much time trying to get the best guitar tone possible.

I spend so much time trying to perfect everything, and often when you get into that mindset, you end up ruining things — you take it so far that you get to a place where it’s worse than when you first started. I think it’s important for any aspiring songwriter or producer to learn to get to a point where, once you find a decent sound, turn it into a template and start with that every single time.

And you’ll obviously tweak things from time to time and things will change as you create new tracks, but by working with templates when starting a new session, you want to just get instantly into your creativity and start working as fast as possible. For me, having the tools to do that has just been insanely helpful.

JINXX Since we were introduced to Kempers back in 2012, it’s opened up so many possibilities for us, such as being able to work remotely and sending each other files to put into ProTools sessions. It’s just more efficient than it was back in the day when we would have different amps and cabs and try to mic everything — it’s just such a waste of time, whereas now all I have to do is turn on my ProTools rig and lay down an idea without having to think about sounds or anything.

Then I just send the DI to Jake and there you have it.

“I’M WAY MORE HUMBLE NOW THAN WHEN I WAS A COCKY 20-YEAR-OLD” — JINXX

Jinxx with his signature Schecter Recluse-FR

in May 2011, and all I knew was that Jinxx and I were doing this roundtable interview with Asking Alexandria — whom we had never met before — for Guitar World.

So we played this big show, and after our set we went back to our dressing room and started making cocktails, so we were already a little buzzed when we went to go do this photo shoot for Guitar World. And at the time I had no idea that it was going to be for the cover!

No one told me. I just thought we were doing a cool interview and photo shoot, and it was a fun, exciting time for us. It wasn’t until we went to England a month later to play the Download Festival that someone came up to me at the VIP bar and said I was going to be on the cover of Guitar World. I said to the person, ‘Uh, what are you talking about?

I’m not on the cover of Guitar World.’ Sure enough, the magazine eventually came out, and I was like, ‘What in the world?’

And that was always a dream of mine, to be on the cover of Guitar World, so the whole thing was pretty mind-blowing for me.” — Jeff Kitts

AUGUST 2021

the gear in review

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JACKSON Pro Series Dinky DK Modern EverTune 6

78 CORT

Gold-A6

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FENDER Mustang Micro

GUITAR WORLD

PLATINUM AWARD EX

Solidbody Remix CELLENCE

The D’Angelico Deluxe Atlantic

D'ANGELICO DELUXE ATLANTIC AND DELUXE BRIGHTON

By Chris Gill

THE NAME D’ANGELICO instantly conjures images of archtop

hollowbody guitars as well as semi-hollow models for many who have paid casual attention to the company’s recent offerings.

However, for the last seven years D’Angelico has also offered a fascinating range of solidbody models that are worthy of attention, especially by players who are looking for something different than the standardized iterations that make up maybe 90 percent of the market’s offerings.

D’Angelico’s latest Deluxe Atlantic and Deluxe Brighton models are great examples of how a few “little” changes can make big differences in tone. We’re talking about details like the tonewood/scale length pairings, fretwire dimensions and even the pickup magnets. While the D’Angelico Deluxe Atlantic and Deluxe Brighton may look similar to classic solidbody models, these guitars offer bold, distinctive voices that stray from the same old “been there, done that” standards. With their enticing combination of classy looks and unique tones, the D’Angelico Deluxe Atlantic and Deluxe Brighton are suitable for players who want to stand out from the crowd rather than blend in.

guitarworld.com

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SOUNDCHECK

The D’Angelicio Deluxe Brighton

FEATURES The Deluxe Atlantic and Deluxe Brighton models deliver an abundance of eye candy, including D’Angelico’s signature oversized headstock, Grover Super Rotomatic locking tuners with stairstep buttons, aluminum skyscraper truss rod cover, mother of pearl/abalone split-block fretboard inlays, ebony control knobs and an oversized, ornately curved five-ply pickguard. Both also feature three-piece, 22-fret maple necks with a 24.75-inch scale length, dual full-size humbuckers, a Tune-OMatic bridge with stopbar tailpiece and separate volume and tone/push-pull coil split controls for each pickup.

However, each model varies from more common iterations of the dual-humbucker solidbody.

Both models are available with three different finish options with different body materials — Vintage Sunburst/swamp ash with flame maple top, Desert Gold/alder and Matte Walnut/alder. The Atlantic features a single-cutaway body while the Brighton boasts double-cutaway design, with the swamp ash/flame maple cap version of either weighing less than the alder versions. Both bodies measure a slim 1.625 inches thick — the same as an SG. The pickups on both models are a pair of Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers, but they are equipped with A4 magnets instead of the usual A2. The frets are Jescar 47104s, which measure just a skosh more width and height than Vintage Jumbo Dunlop 6150/6155 frets.

Set thru neck construction provides a smooth, heelfree neck-to-body transition for unrestricted playing comfort. With its slim C-shape profile, flat 14-inch radius and silky smooth ebony fingerboard, both models offer the fast playability of a modern shred guitar along with the luxurious feel of a handmade

76 G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

boutique instrument.

PERFORMANCE Like I typically do when first

receiving guitars for review, I just plugged in the Matte Walnut/alder Deluxe Atlantic and Vintage Sunburst/swamp ash Deluxe Brighton without looking up the specs in advance. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that both possess very distinctive yet attractive voices completely unlike any of the 10,000 or so dual-humbucker solidbodies I’ve played during my lifetime.

The Deluxe Brighton is cheekily named as I immediately ID’d it as the “bright one.” Its swamp ash body delivered tight, punchy attack with an aggressive upper midrange that is enhanced by the crisp detail of the Duncan Seth Lovers’ A4 magnets. The overall character is like the kick and bite of a Tele but with a bigger, fuller voice thanks to the humbuckers and a smoother transition from attack to sustain thanks to the 24.75-inch scale.

With its alder body, the Deluxe Atlantic I tested had a slightly warmer character that fell in between the tones of a Strat and an SG. It too has an aggressive attack, but its tone is more balanced, thanks to more prominent midrange. The A4 magnets in the Lover humbuckers work wonders with individual note definition, treble sparkle and gut-punching bass.

The construction of both models is meticulous.

Belly contours and the smooth satin finish on the necks provide outstanding playing comfort, and the maple neck construction provides excellent stability even though the profile is quite seductively slim. The dimensions of the Jescar 47104 frets are just right for a player like me who learned on vintage frets but honed my craft on modern jumbos.

CHEAT SHEET STREET PRICE: $1,499.99 (each) MANUFACTURER: D’Angelico, dangelicoguitars.com The swamp ash/flame maple top and alder body tonewoods provide a distinctive alternative to the industry-standard mahogany 24.75-inch scale models.

The Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbucking pickups have A4 magnets instead of the usual A2 magnets to provide crisp articulation and bolder upper midrange.

The slim 1.625-inch body thickness and belly contour provide lighter overall weight and enhanced playing comfort.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The D’Angelico Deluxe Atlantic and Deluxe Brighton update the dual-humbucker solidbody voice for players seeking a guitar with tone and looks that stand out from the pack.

GUITAR WORLD

PLATINUM AWARD EX

CELLENCE

Technical Ecstasy

SOUNDCHECK

JACKSON PRO SERIES DINKY DK MODERN EVERTUNE 

By Paul Riario

A QUICK PERUSAL of Jackson Guitars’

Pro Series lineup of instruments is like gazing into a showroom containing a fleet of the most elite, high-performance sports cars.

Car analogy notwithstanding, we can probably agree “Jackson Guitars” should be synonymous with “fast,” and thankfully, if dextrous celerity is what you’re after, the company’s appealing selection of body styles, pickups and bridges — whether it’s hardtail or locking tremolo — all provide the technical and sonic means to up your virtuosic game. Even more encouraging is that Jackson Guitars regularly incorporates the latest cutting-edge hardware and electronics in their instruments, as evidenced by their Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK Modern EverTune 6, which includes the revolutionary EverTune F6 bridge and Fishman’s tremendous Fluence Open Core pickups. If you’ve never test driven either of these innovations, the Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK Modern EverTune 6 is the perfect vehicle to explore them now.

Fluence active pickups is their sweeping dynamics, zero-noise and three distinct voices activated by the push/pull tone control (Voice 1, and Voice 2 combined with Voice 3) and selected via the five-way blade switch (Voice 1: vintage PAF bridge and neck in positions 1 and 5, with inner coil bridge, both inner coils, and neck inner coil in positions 2, 3 and 4; Voice 2: hot-rodded bridge and clear airy chime neck in positions 1 and 5, and Voice 3: single-coil tones in positions 2, 3 and 4). Equally important, the EverTune F6 is a mechanical bridge system that balances string tension to keep your guitar consistently intonated and in tune as you bend strings, and under varying temperature and humidity changes.

PERFORMANCE While there are plenty of

guitars outfitted with overwound pickups and double-locking tremolos, the DK Modern EverTune 6 is an entirely different flavor of “shred guitar” having the factory-installed EverTune bridge as a standard option. This mechanical marvel provides an ergonomic platform for elevating precise playing that FEATURES The DK Modern EverTune 6 cuts requires accurate intonation at all times, and once you try it, you may never be able to live a clean, stark silhouette with its basswood Dinky body, arriving in a striking satin graphite without it. It’s a stable and responsive bridge that can be set up to your playing style (the finish that’s color-matched to its glaivedefault factory setup is perfectly dialed-in), and shaped AT-1 reverse headstock with white binding. The three-piece maple/wenge-strip/ keeps the guitar firmly in tune and your playing finely-tuned, even when bending wildly. maple bolt-on neck is graphite-reinforced The Open Core humbuckers are welland feels structurally rock solid, and the matched for this guitar, with a bevy of modern trimly contoured neck heel allows seamless and classic tones at your fingertips. Voice 1 access toward the upper registers. Likewise, is, by far, the most recording-grade tone on the comfortably slim neck profile combined with a thin satin finish fosters agile playability the guitar, sounding evenly smooth, full and balanced throughout each blade position. Still, along the guitar’s 25.5–inch scale length and Voice 2 is undoubtedly my favorite — with an 12-16–inch compound radius bound ebony edgy, hot-rodded sizzle that’s wickedly fun for fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets. The neck pick harmonic-squealing and fleet-fingered also displays offset pearloid dot inlays, white binding, glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots shredding. Even at maximum crunch, Voice and a heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel 2’s airy-neck tone stays warm and articulate, for trouble-free neck relief adjustments. Gotoh and dropping the blade into Voice 3’s singlelocking tuners, a Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut and coil territory brings out dynamic sparkle and spank without muddiness, even as you ease Dunlop dual-locking strap buttons round out down the guitar’s volume control. The DK its premium appointments.

Modern EverTune 6 proves that once you try The superstars of the show are a pair of its remarkable bridge and Open Core pickup direct-mount Fishman Fluence Open Core combo, it may very well become your new PRF-COC humbucking pickups and the EverTune F6 bridge. The charm of the Fishman steadfast six-string companion.

CHEAT SHEET

STREET PRICE: $1,599.99 MANUFACTURER: Jackson Guitars, jacksonguitars.com

The EverTune F6 mechanical bridge system uses springs to keep consistent and balanced tension on your strings, offering unwavering tuning stability and precise intonation for any playing style and variable temperature changes.

A pair of Fishman Fluence Open Core PRFCOC humbucking pickups offer three distinct voices from vintage PAF to hotrodded output, and single-coil sparkle.

THE BOTTOM LINE The Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK Modern EverTune 6 is a nextlevel performance machine with multi-voiced tones and pitchperfect intonation, making it an unrivaled instrument for the studio and stage. guitarworld.com

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SOUNDC SOUNDCHECK

GUITAR WORLD

GOLD AWARD PE

RFORMANCE

Torrefaction Guaranteed CORT GOLDA

By Chris Gill

IF YOU’VE EVER played a vintage

acoustic alongside a new acoustic with the same construction and materials, you probably noticed that the vintage guitar sounded a lot more lively, dynamic and sweeter. Some players claim that the reason is because older guitars are “broken in,” but the simple explanation is that the natural aging process of the wood has enhanced its performance. Fresh cut wood retains vibration-damping moisture, oils and resins that regular kiln drying can’t eliminate entirely, whereas aged wood that has dried naturally makes the material stiffer and lighter, which results in more efficient vibration characteristics.

A process called “torrefaction” where wood is heated to a specific temperature range in a humidity-free environment replicates the cell-structure of vintage-aged material. Until recently, torrefied spruce tops were only available on expensive bou-

CHEAT SHEET

STREET PRICE: $799.99 MANUFACTURER: Cort, cortguitars.com

78 G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

tique instruments, but Cort has broken the price barrier with its new Gold series acoustics, which feature the company’s “Aged to Vintage” treatment. We took a look at Cort’s Gold-A6 cutaway Grand Auditorium acoustic-electric model to see if its accelerated aging process lived up to its promise.

FEATURES The Cort Gold-A6 is made from all-solid materials, including a torrefied Sitka spruce top and Okoume (African mahogany) back and sides. The neck is Palaquium (a mahogany equivalent, also known as nato or nyatoh) and features a Macassar ebony fretboard, 20 medium frets, 25.3-inch scale length and a slim C-shape profile. The neck, which is reinforced with walnut inserts, is attached to the body with a DoubleLock neck joint employing a dovetail joint supported by a bolt, which maximizes tone transference and simplifies future neck resets. The bridge is also Macassar ebony. Decoration is conThe torrefied Sitka spruce top provides the dynamics, projection and tonal complexity of naturally aged and dried wood.

servatively understated and includes small mother-of-pearl fretboard dots with a scroll pattern at the 12th fret echoed by similar figures on the bridge, a ring of abalone encircling the soundhole and black binding with triple-ply purfling surrounding the top, back and fretboard. Gold-plated open-gear tuners with butterbean buttons enhance the GoldA6’s vintage aesthetics.

The built-in electronic system is a Fishman Flex Blend with chromatic tuner and internal electret-condenser cardioid microphone. The controls (tone with phase button, blend and volume with tuner button) and LED tuner display are mounted on the side.

PERFORMANCE Cort did an astonish-

ing job in all aspects of the construction of the Gold-A6 model we examined. All of the woods are gorgeous, with the back and sides possessing straight grain patterns and the

Hand-rolled fret edge treatment enhances playing comfort thanks to the smoothly polished, rounded surfaces at the edges of every fret.

THE BOTTOM LINE The Cort Gold-A6 with its torrefied top provides the rich, dynamically responsive tone of a vintage-aged acoustic without requiring a huge investment or the patience of waiting for decades.

Buzz Bin EP

G W UITA

RF

The Cort Gold-A6’s built-in electronic system [left] is a Fishman Flex Blend with chromatic tuner and an internal electretcondenser cardioid microphone

top having the straight, narrow grain of slow-growth spruce as well as a warm, tan hue courtesy of the torrefaction treatment. The fretwork is silky smooth, with rounded edges that enhance playing comfort.

The materials and overall attention to detail are simply stunning for an instrument in the sub-$1,000 price range and comparable to acoustics costing four to five times as much.

The tone of the Cort Gold-A6 is majestic.

The torrefaction treatment combined with an ultra-thin UV finish truly deliver the tone and dynamics of an aged vintage instrument, possessing a complexity that is unheard of for an instrument in this price range. The resonance has a rich, sustaining “tail” that’s similar to a studio reverb effect, and the tone is well-balanced, with warm, fullbodied midrange, assertive but not overbearing bass and sparkling treble. The guitar is satisfyingly responsive when played fingerstyle, but it can also be strummed quite aggressively without overdriving the top.

The Fishman Flex Blend is an inspired pairing for an acoustic guitar like this that provides such excellent natural tone. I preferred to adjust the Blend control with a touch more microphone to capture that luscious resonance and the guitar’s harmonically complex overtones.

G ORLDR AWOARLD D OR

MANCE

Fender Mustang Micro

I ONCE JOKINGLY wondered if personal headphone amplifiers were still “a thing.” Maybe I watched too many YouTube guitarists rocking out at full volume in their homes and figured nobody quietly practices guitar anymore. Well, apparently I’m fantastically wrong. If you still live with roommates or family, “silence is golden” seems to take on a whole new meaning — especially if guitar noodling is “your thing.” Fear not: The brand-new Fender Mustang Micro is the latest in a pocket-sized guitar headphone amp that not only permits your shredding to be quietly contained but also boasts a curated selection of impressive tones from Fender’s big-brother Mustang digital modeling amps, Bluetooth audio streaming and direct-recording capabilities.

The mobile Mustang Micro is indeed “micro” — just slightly bigger than a Hot Wheels car — and features a 1/4–inch rotating input plug that connects into nearly any guitar jack regardless of angle, and a large, grippy Master Volume wheel that’s easily accessed on the front. The Mustang Micro offers 12 onboard amp models and 12 effects combinations that can be selected from its side panel of control buttons labeled Amp, EQ, Effects and Modify. You can spot-check what amp model and effects combo, EQ and effects parameter you have in play by the corresponding multi-colored LEDs above the controls (provided you can remember what color does what, but fret not, the included color reference card will jog your memory). There’s a three-position slider switch for on/off/ Bluetooth activation and LED for power/Bluetooth/charging status, a 1/8–inch stereo headphone jack (sorry, latency issues prevent wireless headphones) and the handy USB-C interface for direct-recording output and firmware updates, and for charging its lithium-ion battery (giving you over four hours of play).

My only advice is to use an excellent pair of headphones to fully experience the exceptional amp and effects models on the Mustang Micro. There are four clean, three crunch, four hi-gain and studio preamp models to choose from along with a variety of 12 sensible effects combinations. Besides some modern American and classic British amp models, you’ll find beloved Fender amps like the ’65 Deluxe that can be paired with vintage tremolo and spring reverb for gorgeous cleans.

There’s an undeniable high-definition quality to all the modeled amps but it’s the dynamics found in their harmonic content that’ll win you over. For example, the FBE-100 (based on a Friedman BE-100) combined with tape delay and small-room reverb is a ripping tone I’d confidently record with via its USB-C interface. Keep in mind, you can’t adjust drive levels in the amp models or swap effects in their fixed combinations, but Fender seems to have dialed in the “sweet spot” for each amp model, and the effects parameters can easily be modified. Bluetooth audio streaming is flawless for playing along in real time with its built-in audio/video sync, but I’ll leave you with the fact that it’s the best portable amplifier for practice or recording that you can tuck into a gig bag for less than a hundred bucks.

— Paul Riario

STREET PRICE: $99.99 MANUFACTURER: Fender, fender.com

guitarworld.com

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S N M U L OC

STRING THEORY

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/August202

by Jimmy Brown

I GOT RHYTHM, PART 19 Quarter-note triplets

LAST TIME, WE learned how to count and play eighth-note triplets, for which you subdivide a beat into three equally spaced notes, as indicated by an Italic 3. We then saw how you can create swing eighth notes, or swing eighths, by tying the middle note of the triplet to the first note. This gives you that lopsided “long-short-long-short” sound that, when paired with accents on beats 2 and 4, produces the classic “blues shuffle” feel, or groove. Today I’d like to continue with this topic and introduce another important and interesting subdivision that’s based on eighth-note triplets — quarter-note triplets.

Quarter-note triplets are essentially eighth-note triplets in half time, meaning they’re literally half as fast. The way this works is you take two beats of eighth-note triplets, totalling six notes, spread out across two beats, and play only the first, third and fifth notes, meaning every other note. Let’s look at the process in stages, using very simple melodies based on the E minor pentatonic scale (E, G, A, B, D). FIGURE 1 begins with a repeating three-note idea, or motif, using the notes E, D and B played in each beat of bar 1. In bar 2, we remove the B note from each beat, shortening the motif from E-D-B to E-D, and toggle back and forth between these two notes, but do so while keeping the eighth-note triplet rhythm going.

Now, if we were to play these two notes in a regular eighth-note rhythm, the pattern would be even and very short. But since we’re playing them as eighth-note triplets, an interesting and “tricky”-sounding “twoson-threes” hemiola occurs, as the three-note sequence on beat 1 — E-D-E — inverts, or “flips,” on beat 2 to D-E-D, then flips again on beats 3 and 4.

Due to the melodic contour of the line, meaning its shape, the higher E note is naturally emphasized, and so the two-beat pattern implies a quarter-note triplet rhythm within, or on top of, the stream of eighthnote triplets. It’s that same “rhythm-withina-rhythm” concept we had explored several lessons back, when looking at chains of dotted-eighths and dotted-16ths syncopations.

Only now we’re applying it to triplets.

In FIGURE 2, we start off continuing the pattern from bar 2 of FIGURE 1, now adding

FIG. 1

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count: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a 1 trip let 2 trip let 3 trip let 4 trip let

T4 A4 B

FIG. 2

T4 A4 B FIG. 3

.. 5 3 0 5 3 0 5 3 0 5 3 0 3

3

3

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a 1 trip let 2 trip let 3 trip let 4 trip let

5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3

3

3

3

> > > > > > > > > > > >

3

..

>1 2 3 4

1234

5

3

> >>> > > >

count: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a trip a let trip a let 1 2 3 4 1 trip let 2 triplet 3 triplet 4 triplet 1 triplet 2 trip let 3 triplet 4 trip let 1 trip let 3 trip let 1 2 3 4

.. 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 >

3

3

3

> > >

3

5555555 555 3

3

3

> > > > > > 5

5

44 3

pull-offs from E to D, which further emphasize the E notes. Then, in bar 2 of FIGURE 2, we get rid of the D notes altogether and replace them with tied E notes, which gives us the signature “slow-motion” sound of quarter-note triplets. Notice the different, simpler notation used in beats 3 and 4 of bar 2, which conveys the very same rhythm as that heard and played in the previous two beats. Here, we’ve replaced the two tied eighth notes in each beat with a single quarter that falls within the triplet bracket, which is the little pair of right-angle “hooks,” or “bookends,” that take the place of the thick, black horizontal beam.)

In bar 3 of FIGURE 2, we further consolidate the note values to eliminate any remaining ties and now have the standard and most economical notation for quarter-note triplets, which is simply three quarter notes grouped together within a triplet bracket across two beats (1 and 2 or 3 and 4).

Bear in mind that, with a triplet, you’re compressing the duration of a “regular” note value into a smaller space that’s two thirds, or 66.66%, of it, relative to the beat.

For example, a regular quarter note lasts

3

55

4 3

4 3

555555 5 3

3

count: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a 1 trip let 2 trip let 3trip let 4triplet 1 triplet 2 trip let 3trip let 4 triplet

T 4 .53 53 5 5 A4 . 4 4 4 4 B J3 3 3 3

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trip a let trip a let 1 trip let 3 trip let

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a full beat, whereas a quarter-note triplet takes up only two thirds of a beat. Likewise, a regular eighth note lasts half a beat, and an eighth-note triplet lasts a third of a beat.

FIGURE 3 illustrates another cool thing you can do with quarter-note triplets, again presented in stages. We start by playing two beats of eighth-note triplets, with a pull-off from E to D followed by B on the G string’s 4th fret. Then, on beats 3 and 4 of bar 1, we omit the D note and switch to a simpler twonote motif, E-B, which is played in a swingeighths rhythm but notated here with triplet brackets, for the sake of visual analysis, with the E note now held twice as long and written as a quarter note inside the bracket.

In bar 2, we additionally double the duration of each B note, which creates a slowingdown effect overall. Notice how the pattern now flips every two beats — E-B-E across beats 1 and 2, then B-E-B on beats 3 and 4 — and creates a kind of staggered sound, as if you’re walking and tripping but managing to stay on your feet.

Finally, bar 3 shows what sounds like the very same rhythm as that in bar 2, now notated as streamlined quarter-note triplets.

Senior Music Editor “Downtown” Jimmy Brown is an experienced, working musician, performer and private teacher in the greater NYC area whose mission is to entertain, enlighten and inspire people with his guitar playing.

S N M U L OC

IN DEEP

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/August2021

by Andy Aledort

AROUND THE BENDS, PART 7 More string-bending

FIG. 1

AS WE NOW arrive at part seven in this

series of studies addressing string-bending techniques, we continue our examination of bending up to and back to each note of the E Dorian mode (E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D), as played on the high E string. As we have done in the previous columns, the idea is to utilize each scale degree of E Dorian as a pivot point or note of emphasis in a given phrase, and to sound each pitch by either bending up to the note from a half step or whole step below, or back down to it from above, using what’s known as a pre-bend, or reverse bend.

Applying this type of focus to each scale degree will open up new possibilities for melodic invention in your improvised solos.

Last month, we applied this approach to the notes of E Dorian from the open 1st string up to the 9th-fret C# note. We’ll now continue with the next scale degree, D, located at the 10th fret.

In FIGURES 1 and 2, the note of emphasis is D, the b7 (flatted 7th). In FIGURE 1, the D note is fretted first, followed by a half-step bend from C# up to D, which is then released. This is repeated, and then the phrase is resolved in descending fashion.

In bar 1 of FIGURE 2, the D note is bent up one whole step to E then released and followed by whole- and half-step pre-bends with vibratos. In bars 2 and 3, the E note, one whole step above D, is fretted normally followed by half-step bends up to E from D#, located one fret below.

The next higher note in E Dorian above the E octave is F#, located at the 14th fret on the high E string. FIGURE 3 illustrates techniques for bending up to F# from both a whole step below (E) and a half step below (F natural). In each example, these bending techniques are presented as elements in the articulation of an improvised musical phrase. Changing the position of the fretted note — whether one bends from a whole step or half step below — affords the opportunity for a variety of melodic twists and turns. The next higher note above F# is G, which, as shown in FIGURE 4, we can bend up to from F#, a half step below.

A great exercise is to bend up to each ascending note in E Dorian, as illustrated

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techniques in E Dorian

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with half-step bends in FIGURE 5. Listen carefully as you bend to ensure proper intonation of each target pitch.

FIGURE 6 represents the culmination of all of the previous bending exercises, with a long improvised melodic line that moves

1

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~~~

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freely down the high E string, eventually resolving to the tonic, E, on the B string’s 5th fret.

Now that you have the idea, try to incorporate all of these string-bending approaches into your own improvisations.

Guitar World Associate Editor Andy Aledort is recognized worldwide for his vast contributions to guitar instruction, via his many best-selling instructional DVDs, transcription books and online lessons.

S N M U L OC

THE GRISTLE REPORT

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/August2021

by Greg Koch

GET ORGANIZED! Emulating organ-style

chord melodies, part 2

3

Triplet Feel q q = q e

B9/F # C9/G

FIG. 1

T4 B

‰

2 X 22 X 1 X 2

33 1 32 3

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66 88 6 7 9 7 6

87 8

10 9 10 9 10 9 10 10

~~~~~~~~

87 8

87 8

10 9 10

LAST MONTH, WE took an introductory look at an early composition of mine, “2.65,” a bluesy shuffle that was originally recorded B7 C7 B9 C9 D for my 1994 album, Strat’s Got Your Tongue. 3 8 6 11 12 14 15 15 10 88 10 As I mentioned, the guitar part is intended 99 7 67 10 11 14 15 15 X 10 15 9 to emulate the block-chording sound of a X 11 12 X 14 X 11 9 13 15 14 14 10 X Hammond B3 organ via the use of descending and ascending triads played against syncopated bass notes, just as a B3 player will 1/2 E7 # 9 add rhythmic accents with the left hand in the “spaces” left by the right hand. Togeth- 6 X X 12 87 87 XXX XXX 87 87 er, the two hands create a swinging groove X 11 12 11 12 11 10 9 10 9 10 12 11 X 12 12 10 10 12 67 6 6 6 that’s free to alternate between simpler or more complex rhythmic syncopations.

0 0 7 7 In the previous column, I detailed the 3 tune’s first theme, or “A” section, which is G9 G #9 A9 centered in the key of A and features triadic 8 forms built from the A Mixolydian mode X X 10 10 11 12 (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G). Following the initial X X 10 10 11 12 12 12 X X 9 9 10 11 11 eight bars, I modulate down one whole step 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 to chordal forms based on G Mixolydian (G, 3 A, B, C, D, E, F) for four bars then return to the original musical idea played in bars 1-8.

FIG. 2 At this point, the arrangement modulates C B b C6 C #9 C9 B A B6 C9 B9 once again, this time up one and one half 88 66 55 44 33 33 7 5 4 3 2 steps, from A to C. This section of the tune is T the focus of this month’s column. As shown 7 9 9 7 5 4 3 3 6 8 78 56 44 33 22 in bars 1-4 of FIGURE 1, this third element B in the tune modulates the chordal-melodic idea up to triadic forms based on the C FIG. 3 Mixolydian mode (C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb). The G9 A b9 A9 first two chord voicings in this section have been moved over to the top three strings, 11 12 12 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 T after which I return to triadic forms played 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 9 9 9 9 10 11 11 on the D, G and B strings. In bars 5 and 6, 10 10 11 12 12 B the idea modulates once again, this time up a whole step to D Mixolydian (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C), played in a manner nearly identical to back to our tonic chord, the A9. bars 1-4. Then the last two bars of the eight- “The White Album”). Bars 3 and 4 of FIGI encourage you to memorize these Mixbar form present a resolution that brings us URE 2 show the lick in the key of B, which olydian voicings and then begin to incorpoback to our original “home” key of A major, is how it appears on the Beatles record. via the V (five) chord, E7#9, followed by G9, When I get to the final G9 chord in FIG- rate them into your own compositions and musical excursions, as “mobile” chording three frets higher, capped off with chromat- URE 1, I like to sound a staccato bass note before adding vibrato to the higher notes, as invites new avenues for both songwriting ic chord movement, from G#9 to A9. and improvisational ideas.

FIGURE 2 offers a slightly different take shown in FIGURE 3, which then leads us on the introductory triadic forms that are based on C Mixolydian. Here, I remain on Greg Koch is a large human who coaxes guitars into submission in a way the top three strings as I descend through that has left an indelible print on the psyches of many Earth dwellers. five different voicings. I first learned this Visit GregKoch.com to check out his recordings, instructional materials, type of guitar phrase from the Beatles song, signature musical devices and colorful hats.

“Yer Blues,” included on The Beatles (a.k.a.

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KIVON MOT

S N M U L OC

MELODIC MUSE

For video of this lesson, go to GuitarWorld.com/August2021

by Andy Timmons

FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION Incorporating position

FIG. 1

T B

shis across multiple strings when soloing

IN THE LAST few columns, we focused on

‰

12 10 12 14 15

FIG. 3

T A4 B FIG. 5

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FIG. 2

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B7 78 7 7

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11 11 9 14 14 14 7 7 12 5 5 3 5 5 9 J J J J J J 3 B7~~~~~~~~ Cmaj7 10 .

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3

melodic line to reflect the connection to B7. One can analyze this scale as either E harmonic minor (E, F#, G, A, B, C, D#) or its fifth mode, B Phrygian-dominant (B, C, D#, E, F#, G, A). So, even though we can see three different scales at work here, I am

Em7 hold bend

. 14~~~~~~~~~ 14

1/2

14

much more cognizant of what is and what is not a chord tone while developing a solo over the progression.

FIGURE 5 offers a 16-bar solo over Em7 - A7 (2x) - Cmaj7 - B7 (2x), with a final resolution back to the tonic chord, Em7.

Andy Timmons is a world-renowned guitarist known for his work with the Andy Timmons Band, as well as Danger Danger and Simon Phillips.

Visit andytimmons.com and guitarxperience.net to check out his recordings and many instructional releases

ITTEHCEC ENOMIS

the concept of horizontal playing — moving up and down a single string while improvising. In my experience, I find that taking this approach will immediately pull one out of the “positional” frame of mind and will encourage players to connect, aurally as well as physically, to the improvised lines they create. The next logical step is to combine those positional shifts that the single-string approach presents with string crossing, striving to attain a sense of “freedom of navigation” and an ear for musicality.

This month, the track we are using to solo over comes from my TrueFire In The Jam series. We’re in the key of E minor, and the chord progression is Em7 - A7 Em7 - A7 - Cmaj7 - B7 - Cmaj7 - B7. Along with a “global” awareness of the proper scales to play over this entire progression, it is much more important to me for the melodic lines to connect to each chord. It is the chords themselves that will tell me which notes will hold the strongest connection and which ones will serve as passing tones between specific chord tones.

Globally, the lines over the Em7 - A7 changes could be based on the E Dorian mode (E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D). FIGURE 1 presents a series of phrases based on this mode.

When the progression shifts to Cmaj7, the C# note, which is the major third of A7, needs to be flatted one half step, to C natural. This changes the mode to E Aeolian, also known as the E natural minor scale (E, F#, G, A, B, C, D), reflected by the lick shown in FIGURE 2.

When I’m writing a piece of music, I like to come up with a chord progression that will offer melodic twists and turns with just a slight shift in the overall harmonic environment, which is what is happening here. The only note that changes between the two scales is the 6th degree, as C#, which is the major 6th, switches to C natural, which is the minor, or “flat,” 6th.

But when the dominant sound of B7 comes along, another slight twist is presented in the presence of D#, the major 3rd of B. FIGURES 3 and 4 offers examples of how to incorporate the D# note into the

3

Freely

15 12 1 14 12 12151412

•••

PERFORMANCE NOTES

HOW TO PLAY THIS MONTH’S SONGS • • •

“THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER”

Tame Impala

AUSTRALIAN MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST KEVIN Parker crafted this super-catchy, retro-disco/r&binfluenced song and arrangement all by himself, playing every part, which is quite impressive, both technically and creatively!

The track kicks off with a punchy, aggressive bass riff that Parker actually recorded on guitar using an octave-down pitch shift (like what Jack White had done on the White Stripes song “Seven Nation Army”). Playing the notes high up the fretboard on the lower strings contributed to the tonal fatness of the part, as did tuning down a whole step.

Parker combined a variety of musical techniques and textures in the arrangement’s various guitar parts, which blend together beautifully, creating a rich sonic tapestry and counterpoint. Notice, at bar 5, the contrast between the ringing, jangly single notes in the Gtr. 2 part and the funky and highly syncopated strum rhythms in the Gtr. 3 part, both performed with a clean tone. Meanwhile, Gtr. 1, equipped with a Roland GK-3 synth pickup, lays down a “pad” of harmony, with full, sustained barre chords.

When playing the funky Gtr. 3 part, use fret-hand muting for the pitchless “scratch” strums indicated by X’s, momentarily loosening your grip on the strings so that they break contact with the frets, but without letting go of them. Similarly, to produce the short staccato articulations on the chords that have a small black dot above the tab numbers, relax your grip on the strings right after strumming them.

Parker crafted some nice chord changes for the song, using a tasteful combination of triadic voicings, inversions and major and minor 7ths. The B6 chord that’s introduced in the song’s final theme, beginning at section H, adds nice warmth. The Ebm(add9) chord in bar 9 requires an arduous pinkie stretch to make, so ease into it and rotate your fret-hand wrist as needed to grab the notes.

Finally, since there are no open strings used in any of the song’s guitar and bass parts, a convenient option would be to play everything in standard tuning, two frets lower.

— JIMMY BROWN

86

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

“HELTER SKELTER”

The Beatles

THE HARDESTROCKING SONG in the Beatles’ illustrious catalog, this proto-metal classic was written by Paul McCartney and features the gifted multi-instrumentalist playing rhythm and lead guitar, with John Lennon filling in for him on bass and George Harrison contributing some slippery slide licks during the song’s outro.

McCartney kicks things off with a trebly, aggressive riff that may be described as “the rock guitar equivalent of ‘Chopsticks’.” In order to give the steady 16th notes in bars 1-4 a uniformly intense and pummelling quality, the guitarist strummed the two-note chords with consecutive downstrokes, which is a technically demanding thing to do, if you’re not accustomed to that kind of fast, repetitive “jabbing” movement.

If you can make it to bar 5, you’ll catch a welcomed breather, as the rhythm shifts to mostly eighth notes at that point, and the occasional pairs of 16th notes that are played during the verse section that follows may be strummed down-up with no noticeable loss of intensity, as the full G5 and E chords roar and ring. Incidentally, notice the momentary and psychedelic “sharpening” of the open low E string in bars 6-11, as McCartney slams it with a super-aggressive downstroke attack.

McCartney employs downpicked 16th notes again in the song’s chorus, beginning at bar 15, this time with single notes and in shorter bursts, first with a descending melodic run based on the A Mixolydian mode (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G) which he then transposes down a perfect 4th to E Mixolydian (E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D) in the following bar. In bar 18, McCartney repeatedly jabs the E note on the B string’s 5th fret with consecutive downstrokes while gradually bending the note up one and one half steps to G. These licks, while more involved for the fret hand than the intro figure, are a little easier on the pick, as they’re single notes. If necessary, you could “cheat” here and switch to down-up-down-up alternate picking without compromising the intensity of the notes, as the attack of an upstroke is much less noticeable on a single note as it is on a chord.

— JIMMY BROWN

“JEREMY”

Pearl Jam

THIS NOWCLASSIC NINETIES grunge rock masterpiece features some of Pearl Jam’s finest collaborative writing and arranging exploits. Bassist Jeff Ament, who composed the song’s music, begins the track with a haunting, massivesounding “question-and-answer” intro riff, using a pick and his celebrated 12-string bass, which doubles each note an octave higher, with that note additionally doubled in unison.

Ament overdubbed a second bass part for the chiming natural harmonics (N.H.) that serve as the “answer” phrases in the first eight bars.

Ament, perhaps drawing inspiration from Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, who famously used 10-string basses, on songs such as “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender,” and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, who had used an eight-string bass on the album Presence, makes fantastic use of his instrument’s gigantic, octave-doubled sound throughout “Jeremy,” especially during the inventively melodic outro figure in section I (see bars 93 to the end), where he plays a cascading melody that’s based on the A Dorian mode (A, B, C, D, E, F#, G) and built around a sequence of diatonic 3rd intervals, ending with a pair of piercing natural harmonics, all treated with a fast, warbling modulation effect.

The song also features finely crafted guitar parts, compliments of Mike McCready and Stone Gossard. Especially sweet is the ringing, almost country-style double-stop hammer-pull lick in A, which serves as an elegant melodic fill between singer Eddie Vedder’s vocal phrases during the song’s pre-chorus and chorus sections (see rehearsal letters C, D and H, Gtr. 3 part). And the two guitarists’ use of sus2, sus4 and add2 chord voicings adds a majestic quality and sonic shimmer to their accompaniments and riffs. The most challenging part of the song to play is probably the long succession of Jimi Hendrix-style whammy-bar dips applied to octave shapes that fades in toward the end, beginning in bar 77. This part requires a consistently accurate eighth-note rhythm and precise whole-step pitch dip, as indicated by “-1” appearing over each V-shaped wedge.

— JIMMY BROWN

notation guide “tablature clef” time signature whole note (held for four beats) N.C.(E) *string 1 2 3 4 5 6

half notes (held for two beats each) D A 2 3 2 0

0

quarter notes (held for one beat each) E let ring

2 2 2 0

eighth notes C

count: “1

and

2

and

count: “1

2

2

.. ..

3 3 0 0 2 3

count: “1 and 2

and

2

*tied rhythms

count: “1

(7)

2

5

and 2

12

12

7 7

2 2 0

and

4”

2

..

4”

4

and

“1

P.H.

5

1

2

1

ee

grace-note slide 14 15

2

2 2 0

and 4

and uh

3

15

and 4

15

15

and

1

2 0

2

2

ee

3

3

4”

3

4”

(8)

8

*Bend string before picking.

fret-hand muting G5 *

*

5 5 3

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X 5 X X X X 5 X X X X 3

* Loosen grip on strings so that they no longer touch the fretboard.

0

2

* 3

5

7

sweep picking (“raking”) 10

9 3

8

7

7

8 3

* = downstroke, = upstroke

88

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

4”

*pre-bend and release (“reverse bend”) full

2

2 2 2 0 0 0

3

3

and

8

P.M.

2 0

0

full

palm muting (picking hand) E5 2 0

1 tie

1

and

full

12

2 2 0

pull-off 0

half rest

2 2 2 0

2 2 0

trill (quick succession of hammer-ons and pull-offs) tremolo picking 7

3

2 2 0

legato slide 3

15

7 (9) 7

1

..

1 and 2 and 3

2 0

*Harmonic sounded by picking hand.

staccato (short) notes 7

2

*pinch harmonic (note fretted)

*Lightly touch string directly over fret, then pick.

7

2

grace-note bend full

7

and 3

N.H.

12

and

vibrato

*natural harmonics

12

2

* Don’t rearticulate notes in parentheses.

(7)

quarter rest

2 2 2 0

and

hammer-on

3 3 0 0 2 3

3

bend and release in time (whole-step bend) full 7

4

dotted half note (held for three beats) A

dotted quarter note

ee and uh 3 ee and uh 4

dotted quarter note G 3 3 0 0 2 3

and

16th rest

2

and 2

3

3

0

0

2

eighth eighth 16th rest note notes 2

G/B

1

0

2

3

2

0

* String 1 is the thinnest string; 6 is the thickest.

Numbers on the lines indicate frets (0 = open string).

0 0 1

2

9

10

TRANSCRIPTIONS

“THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER” Tame Impala As heard on CURRENTS Words and music by KEVIN PARKER • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN

All guitars are tuned down one whole step (low to high: D, G, C, F, A, D).

Bass tuning (low to high): D, G, C, F. All music sounds in the key of E major, one whole step lower than written.

E bm

134111

E bm7

A Intro (0:00)

Db

11fr.

134211 11fr.

Emaj7

2 333

Moderately q 117

Gb

9fr.

D b/F

9fr.

1333 7fr.

13241

Db

10fr.

231

6fr.

(D b)

R

E bm

9 11 11 11 9 11 11 11

13

Db

Gtr. 2 (elec. w/clean tone) Rhy. Fig. 1a

5 let ring throughout

. 15.

11

B6sus2

6fr.

2 143

N.C.(Eb m)

.

B6

13

15 13 11

9fr.

G bmaj7add13 9fr.

1324

13411

1312

. .

G bmaj7

11fr.

143

E bm7

Gtr. w/octave-down effect (100%) and light overdrive, arr. for Bass gtr.

Bass Fig. 1 1 T 13 15 13 11 A 13 11 11 11 13 15 13 B 11

44 ‰ .

E bm(add9)

8fr.

13244 6fr.

2 11

(G b)

(Db/F)

. .9 9 9. 13 11

9 11 11 11 9 10 11 10

11 11 11 13 13 11

E bm

...

end Bass Fig. 1 15 13 11 13

13

D b/F end Rhy. Fig. 1a

99 10 11 119

9 10 11 11 9 11 11 11

11 11 119

*Guitar equipped with Roland GK-3 synth pickup.

Gtr. 3 (elec. w/clean tone) Rhy. Fig. 1b X X 11 11 11 11 11 XX XX 11 11 11 11 11 X X 11 11 XX XX 11 11 11 11 11 11

9 13

Gb

9 11 11 11 9 10 11 10

*Gtr. 1 (elec. w/clean tone and synth effects) Rhy. Fig. 1 11 11 11 13 13 11

. 15.

11

‰

.

11 11 XX 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 X 11 11 11 11 11 11

11 11 119

Gb

‰

Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 (see bar 1) (composite arrangment: Bass and guitar w/octave pedal arr. for one part) “THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER” WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEVIN PARKER. COPYRIGHT © 2015 BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (US) LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY PERMISSION. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.

X X X

J

...

G bmaj7

end Rhy. Fig. 1b X 11 X 11 X 11 11 13 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 XX 11 11 XX 11 11 XX 11 11 11 11

‰

‰

... . .

13 13 13 11 11 11 11 11 11

J

‰ 1011

end Rhy. Fig. 1

8

E bm

‰

.

11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

‰ XXX J

guitarworld.com

89

TRANSCRIPTIONS

E bm

E bm(add9)

Db

Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 1b simile (see bar 5) 9 Gtr. 2 9 10 11 11 9 11 11 11 9 11 11 11 11 10 11 10

... ...

Gtr. 1 11 11 11 13 13 11

11 11 11 13 13 11

.

Bass 11 .

11 11

13

.

15

B 1st Verse (0:26) said pull

they left yourself

E bm

... ‰ .. . 15.

11 11 11 15 11 15 13 13 11 11

99 10 11 11 9

11 11 15 13 11

13

11

13

15 13 11

13

together together

I You

Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 1a, second time (see bar 5) Gtr. 1 13 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 11 11

... ...

..

Db

‰

ran should

99 10 11 11 9

Someone

Gb

D b/F

9 10 11 11 9 11 11 11

9 10 11 10

11 11 11 9

11 11 11 9

. .

13 9. 9 9 11

... ‰ 10.. ‰ . 118.

11

out the door to get try your luck with Heather

her

She was Then I

Gb

D b/F

11 11 11 9

11 11 11 9

... .

‰

10 11 8

Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 twice (see bar 1) holding hands with Trevor heard they slept together

E bm

...

11 11 .

13 .

13 11 .

17 11

11 11 11 13 13 11

Not Oh

E bm(add9) 11 11 15 13 11

11 11 15 13 11

11 11 15 13 11

... ‰ ..

C (0:58)

Db

Gtr. 2 plays first three bars of Rhy. Fig. 1a (see bar 5) Gtr. 1 21 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 11 11 11 .

90

99 10 11 11 9

Oh

E bm

Bass

Db

.

11 11

13

.

15

13

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

... ... ‰ . 15.

11

13

13

the the

greatest feeling ever less I know the better

Gb 11 11 11 9

the

Said

11 11 11 9

less I know

11 11 11 9

15 13 11

9

.

. 13.

9 9

11

11

..

10 11 8

the better

Gb

99 10 11 11 9

... ‰ .

D b/F

Oh

Œ

my

13

“THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER”

D 1st Chorus (1:07) love love

can't can't

G bmaj7

G bmaj7add13

... .

.. Bass9. Fig.92

when you're on you could convince

G bmaj7 29

let ring

11 11 10 11 9

. .

9

9

13 15

‰9

E bm7

11

9 11

.

.

Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 (see bar 5) 34 Bass 13 15 13 11 11 11

.

it's

13

not now or ever

.

Gb

15 13 11

9.

13

Wait

Gtr. 1

11 11 11 13 13 11 Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 four times (see bar 1) better late than never

Db

... .. .

7 7

‰

2.

my

..

10 10 11 11 11 11

J

9

So goodbye

Emaj7

11 11 11 11 11

79 89 7

.. 7 7. 11 J J 9

She said

. 13.

9 9

years we'll be

Gb

Just don't

... ..

Oh

11

13

together

I

11 11 11 9

... .

D b/F

‰

Gb

99 10 11 11 9

11 11 11 9

11 11 11 9

said

10 11 8

make me wait forever

Db

D b/F

. 15. ‰ 9

11

11 11 11 9

Gtr. 2 plays first two bars of Rhy. Fig. 1a simile (see bar 5) 42 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 15 11 15 11 15 11 13 13 13 13 11 11 13 11 13 11 13 11

... ...

ten

99 10 11 11 9

11 11 13 13 11

E bm(add9)

1.

9 7 9 9 7 7

Db

end Bass Fig. 2 9 7 7 9 11 11 9 7 7

7 7 7 7

79 89 7

7

Db

38 11

E bm

‰ 6. 7. 7.

Emaj7

6 6

F 2nd Verse (1:48) E bm

79 89 7

79 89 7

. 15.

11

Emaj7

every night change his mind

11 11 11 11

‰ 9 9 6.

No surprise Don't suppose

79 89 7

like to

E (1:39) E bm

by my side on my mind

11 11 11 11

9 6 9

his shoulder your lover

G bmaj7add13

11 ..

10 .

11 9 .

11 11 11 11

. ‰ 9

9 9 9 9

yourself that you're

E bm7

11 .

(keyboard arr. for gtr.) let ring 25 11 11 11 10 10 11 11 9 9

..

you see you see

... ‰ .

D b/F 10 11 8

guitarworld.com

91

TRANSCRIPTIONS Just

E bm

Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 1a (see bar 5)

46 11

11 11 11 13 13 11

11 11 13 13 11

E bm

don't

Db

9 10 11 11 9 11 11 11

... ...

Gtr. 1 11 11 11 13 13 11

11 11 11 13 13 11

Gb

99 10 11 11 9

Just don't

11 11 11 9

... .

‰

make me wait forever

Db

11 11 11 15 11 15 13 13 11 11

99 10 11 11 9

11 11 15 13 11

11 11 11 9

11 11 11 9

Œ ‰.

love

G bmaj7

can't

Gtr. 1

let ring

11 10 11 9

11 10 11 9

... .

my

9 11 11 11 11 10 11 10

Fill 1

G 2nd Chorus (2:21)

10 11 8

Oh

Gb

Gtr. 3

54

D b/F

11 11 11 9

E bm(add9)

50 Gtr. 2

make me wait forever

G bmaj7add13 11

11

you

see

yourself

E bm7

.

11 11 11 11

by

Emaj7

my side

‰

.

11 11

I don't suppose

79 89 7

11 11 11 11

X 11 X X 11 X 11 X X 11

79 89 7

Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 (see bar 25) you could convince

G bmaj7 58

Gtr. 1

11 ..

10 .

11 9 .

your lover

G bmaj7add13

let ring

11 11 10 11 9

. . 13. ‰ 9 9

11

Bass

92

9

9 11

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

E bm7

to

.

996

Emaj7

Gtr. 3 plays Fill 1 (see bar 53) 79 89 7

79 89 7

11 11 11 11

‰

change his mind

6 6

.

7

9 9 7 9 7 7

. ‰ ≈.

11

7

13

15 13 11 13

“THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER”

H (2:37) I

was

Gb

62

doing

Rhy. Fig. 2 11 11 11 9 9 9 9 11

9

Giving

in

11

13

11 11 11 9

10 11 8

‰

11 11 9 11

13 11

‰

was

D b/F

‰

doing

without

fine

you

Oh

sweet

9

9

I

Outro (3:10)

Gb

‰

where

darling

9 11 9

‰

11

13

‰

..

‰

Gb

Gtr. 2 plays first three bars of Rhy. Fig. 1a simile (see bar 5) Gtr. 1 82 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 9 Bass plays Bass Fig. 3 (see bar 78)

this what you want

11

D b/F

11

11

13 11 13

11

turn

11

11

11

say

on Superman

11 11 9 11

D b/F

E bm7

B6

10 11 8

76 86

78 6 7

11

11

say

11

B6

this who you are 9 9 7

away

B6

from mine 9 11 7 9

B6

7

Œ

your stupid line

9 9 9 9

11

E bm7

9 9 9 7 9

7

on Superman

‰

13 11

11

E bm7

Said Come

end Rhy. Fig. 2

9

11

I saw your eyes

13 11

I can't erase

B6

7

Is

E bm7

he wants you said Come

D b/F

13 13 11 13 11

E bm7

13 11

11 11 9 11

Gb

Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 (see bar 62) Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 1a simile, first time only (see bar 5) 78 Bass Fig. 3 11 13 9 9 9 11 9

'til

D b/F

Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 1a, twice simile (see bar 5) 11 13 11 11 9 9 9 9 11 9 11

‰

now

78 6 7

11

13 11

I

all

I saw your face

E bm7 76 86

Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 three times (see bar 62) 11 13 11 11 9 9 9 11 9 9 11

Gb

to

'til

Is

66 Bass

74

‰

you

D b/F

his bullshit

Gb

70

without

fine

11

your stupid line

B6 9

9

..

end Bass Fig. 3

B6sus2 66 7 guitarworld.com

93

TRANSCRIPTIONS

“HELTER SKELTER” The Beatles

As heard on THE BEATLES Words and Music by JOHN LENNON and PAUL McCARTNEY • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN

G5 2

A (0:00)

Moderately q 84

(E7)

111

2314

(E6no3)

03 03 03 03

*repeat previous beat

Bass plays Bass Fill 2 second time (see below bar 8) yeah

33 00 3

. . . .

33 00 3

33 00 3

33 00 3

33 00 3

33 00 3

00 00 0 0

Bass (w/pick)

3 3 3 3

3 0 3 0 3 0 3

0 0

7 7 7 7 7 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 5

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

01 01 01 01

’’’

01 01 0 0 00 00

’’

C Verses (0:18, 0:58, 2:01) 1. Well do you Don't you want me to love you 2. Will you Won't you want me to make you 3. Well do you Don't you want me to make you

yeah

E

00 12 20

00 12 20

. .

00 12 20 0

7 7 7 7 7

Coming down fast I'm coming down fast I'm coming down fast Gtr. 2 plays Fill 1 third time (see below bar 48) 8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 0 20 20 20 20 0 20 20 20 0 20 20 20

94

02 02 02 02

’’’

E 33 00 3

(C)

’’’ Yeah yeah

30 0 3

231

(E7)

G5 30 0 3

E7

B Intro (0:03, 1:47)

*

gain

1 5 Gtr. 3 3

A

When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride 'til I get to the bottom and I see you a-

Gtr. 1 (elec. w/dist.)

1 0000 0 12 3333

T A B

34

E

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5

..

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

simile) .. (Play7 7repeats ’ 7 7 ’

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

7 7 7 5

but I'm miles above you but don't let me break you but don't let me break you 00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

5 7 7 7 5 7 7 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5

“HELTER SKELTER” WORDS AND MUSIC BY JOHN LENNON AND PAUL McCARTNEY. COPYRIGHT © 1968 SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC. COPYRIGHT RENEWED. ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, 424 CHURCH STREET, SUITE 1200, NASHVILLE, TN 37219.

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT SECURED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.

Tell me tell me tell me Come on

skip this bar 3rd times 11 2nd and 00 00 00 12 12 12 0 20 20 20

Tell me the answer Well you may be a lover but you ain't no dancer Tell me tell me Tell me the answer You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer Tell me tell me Tell me the answer You may be a lover but you ain't no

G5

00 12 20

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

A

33 33 33 00 00 00 3 333

33 33 33 00 00 00 333

5777577757777775

3 3 3 333 33333

D Chorus (0:41, 1:18, 2:21)

’ ’

light P.M.

light P.M.

E

light P.M.

A

20 20 40

40 0 5 4 2 0 4 2 00

20 20 40

40 0 5 4 2 0 4 2 0

20

20

40

40 00 5 4 2 0 4 2 00

Gtr. 1 Rhy. Fig. 1 22 22 22 20 20 20

22 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

22 20

22 20

22 20

22 20

Bass 5 5 5 5 5

22 20

22 20

E

22 20

22 20

22 20

5 4 7 5 4 7 5

Yeah Woo 18

57777777

Helter skelter

A

Gtr. 2 (doubled)

Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fill 1 (see below bar 48) 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 33 33 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 00 00 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 3 3

3rd time, skip ahead to F Outro (bar 25) Helter skelter

Helter skelter

15

22 000 20 0

. Π5

skip this bar 2nd and 3rd times

dancer

E

22 ..

20 ..

0 .

33 33 33 33 33 33 00 00 00 00 00 00 333333

Go Look out Look out

00 12 20

7 7 7 7 7

1

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

.

5 4 7 5 4 2 0

Look out

1½

'cause

5 5 5 5 5 5 5

0

7

end Rhy. Fig. 1 0

.

Œ

22 20

22 20

22 20

22 20

22 20

.

5 4 7 5 4 7 5

**

0 1

75

.

0

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20 0

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

Bass substitutes Bass Fill 1 second time (see below bar 48) 7 7 7 7 5 7 5 7

’ ’

≈ 75 Œ

*Notes are played second time only.

*Note played first time only.

00 12 20

22 20

here she comes

*

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 00

00 12 20

1st time, go back to C 2nd verse (bar 7)

Woo grad. bend

00 12 20

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

7 7 7 7

00 12 20

’

00 12 20 0

00 12 20

5 7 5 7

00 1 20 220

.. ..

’ ..

guitarworld.com

95

TRANSCRIPTIONS

E Guitar Solo (1:35) A

E

Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 (see bar 15) Gtr. 2 1

21 15

J Bass

.15 . 1

≈

‰ Œ

Œ

5

3 5 5 5 5 5 7

5 5 5

‰

1

1/2

Œ

7

7

7

5

15

5

1

15 15 15 12 12 12 12 14

E

1

1

Œ

12

Gtr. 1 22 20

7

22 20

22 20

Bass

. .

5

5

5

12

22 20

1

1

12 12 12 15 15 15 12

22 20

22 20

22 20

22 20

0.

00 12 20

00 12 20

7 7 7 7

00 12 20

’

22 20

5 0 5 0 5 0 5 5 5

14

00 12 20

‰ 00 12 20

12 12

she is

Rhy. Fig. 2a

Œ

0 4 2 0 4 2 0

0

00 12 20

Rhy. Fig. 2 00 00 00 12 12 12 20 20 20

00 12 20

7 7 7 7

’

00 12 20

00 12 20

5 7 5 7

00 12 20

’

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

00 12 20

5

5

4

7

3

Helter Skelter

0

0

00 12 20

00 12 20

. Π7

7777

She's

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 00 00 12 12 12 20 20 20

00 12 20

’ ’ ’

Yes she is 0 4 2 0 4 2 0

00 12 20

7

Well look out

>

... ...

fdbk.

00 12 20

Yes

7

>

pitch: E

coming down fast 27 (w/clean tone)

22 20

5

E

~~~~~~~

00 12 20

7

F Outro (2:30)

Go back to B Intro (bar 2) When I

Gtr. 2

96

~~~~

J

A

00 12 20

15

1/4

5

23

15

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

00 12 20

5 7 5 7 5 7 7 7

0

Œ

(repeat previous bar)

0 4 2 0 4 2 0

‘

Bass Fig. 2 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 5 7

’

00 12 20

“HELTER SKELTER” Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 twice simile (see bar 28) Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 2a twice (see bar 28) Gtr. 3 (elec. w/light dist.)

w/slide 30 17 15 16

17

.

15 16 14

.

14

14 12 14 12 14 12

.

7

Œ

.

12

Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 four times simile (see bar 29)

Free Time (2:56) 34

Gtr. 2

Gtr. 3 20 20

4

0

17 17

14 14

14 14

12 12

12 12

10 10

w/fdbk.

Gtr. 1 00 12 20 Bass

00 12 20

4

pitch: E

64

0 36

17 17

..

88 88

77

4

w/filter effect

00 12 20

00 12 20

4

@

44

Resume Tempo (q 84)

Œ

88

99

X X

@

@0

00 12 20

01 22 0

44

... ...

42 0

00 0

00 0

00 0

N.H.

12

0 (vol. swell)

(3:12)

pitches: D

12 0 3

0

A

E7

Gtr. 1

38 Rhy. Fig. 3

0

0

03 12 20

03 12 20

03 12 20

03 12 20 0

0

0 0 7 7 7 5 7 7 7 5 5 7

0

03 12 20

03 12 20

03 12 20

03 12 20

‘

Bass 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 6 6 7 7

7 5

guitarworld.com

97

“HELTER SKELTER”

TRANSCRIPTIONS Gtr. 1 repeats Rhy. Fig. 3 (see bar 38)

.

40 Bass

5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 7

42

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7

Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 3 seven times (see bar 38) 7 9 9 7 7 7 7 5 7 7 9 7 7 5 7

*(play 7 times simile)

.. 7

Bass substitutes Bass Fill 3 fifth, sixth and seventh times (see below bar 48) (4:03) Gtr. 1

44

> >

> >

0

0

0

*Entire mix is gradually faded to silence by fourth time, then faded back in fifth time.

‘

‘

0

..

7 9 0 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 7 9 7 5 7

‘

Bass 7 5 7 5 75 754 7 7 5 4

3 0 2 0 2 0 0 3 12 12

12

12

12

12

12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 3

Free Time (4:18)

0

0

0

0

pitch: E

let ring

0

98

7

9

7

9

5

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

7

3

I got blisters on my fingers

fdbk.

48

3

0

> 70

Œ

Œ

>0 22 00

66 6 0 3

Œ

∑

44 5 0

TRANSCRIPTIONS

“JEREMY” Pearl Jam

As heard on TEN Words by EDDIE VEDDER • Music by JEFF AMENT • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN

Aadd2

A5

6fr.

32

14

E5 113

Moderate Rock q 92 *12-string Elec. Bass

T A B

44 w/pick ‰0 J

G5/A

7fr.

14

F5

A5

113

11

1

7

D5

3 11

13

Asus4

5fr.

3211

3211

5 7 0

0 5 5

5fr.

3411

5

5 0 570

>. >5 5

5

F

5 Gtr. 1 (clean elec. w/compression and fast tremolo effect)

2 « >5. >5

(repeat previous two bars)

2 «

N.H.

*All notes are doubled one octave higher.

5

A

Fsus2

A Intro (0:01)

44 Œ Œ

Bass overdub

7fr.

3

G/A

w/pick

Bass

A7sus2

4fr.

14

*12-string Bass overdub (w/reverb)

T A B

D/A

5fr.

Π7

5

> 5

>5. > 5 5 J

5

gradually louder (gtr. and bass)

0 0

5 5 5 5 5 5

0 00

00 00

00 0

5

5

5 5 5 7 0

5

5

0 5 7 0

(Bass overdub out) 5

“JEREMY” WORDS BY EDDIE VEDDER. MUSIC BY JEFF AMENT. COPYRIGHT © 1991 INNOCENT BYSTANDER, SCRIBING C-MENT SONGS AND UNIVERSAL MUSIC WORKS. ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC WORKS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY PERMISSION. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC.

5

guitarworld.com

99

TRANSCRIPTIONS B 1st Verse (0:21) Faster q 104

At home drawing pictures Arms raised

in a V

N.C. (A) (G/A)

of mountain tops

(A)

Gtr. 1 9 Rhy. Fig. 1

.. 7

0 5 5

5

..

Gtrs. 2 and 3 (elec. w/dist.)

..

Bass Bass Fig. 1 7 0 5 5 0 570

A5

G5/A

13 Gtrs. 2 and 3

97 0

7 7 0 5 5

didn't didn't

00

Lemon yellow sun maroon below

Aadd2

00 6 0 7

7

00 67

end Rhy. Fig. 1 00 67 0 570

..

00 67

‰

C Pre-chorus (0:40, 1:53) Daddy Daddy

5 0 570

with him on top and the dead lay in pools of

0

7 0 5 7 5 05 0 5 7 0

give give

D/A

attention affection

74

no

6 6 0 7 7 0 570

7

oh

G5/A

74 0 570

75

7 0 575

to the fact that and the boy was something that

A5

Gtr. 3

9 9 0 7 7

‰

(2nd time only)

0 570

J

.. ..

end Bass Fig. 1 0 570

J

Mommy Mommy

didn't wouldn't

12 12 12 12 0 97 12 14 12 14 14 00 00

..

Gtr. 2 Bass Bass Fig. 2 0

.

care wear

A5

0 0 7 7 0

G5/A

17 Gtrs. 2 and 3

97 0

7 0 5

75 ..

King King

0

0

let ring

.

77

7 7 0 570

J

Jeremy Jeremy

D/A 74

the wicked the wicked

74 0 570

6 6 0 7 7 0 0 0

G5/A

A5

75

9 9 0 7 7

oh oh

Gtr. 3

let ring

77

ruled ruled

67 67 0 5 7 0

0

J

his his

world world

.

12 12 97 12 14 12 14 12 97 12 14 0 5 7 0

Gtr. 2 Bass 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

100

70

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

70 0 5 7 0

77 0

...

67 67 0 0 0 0 0

J

12 0

14 11 11 0 0 0

end Bass Fig. 2 5 7 0

D 1st and 2nd Choruses (0:58, 2:11) Jeremy

A7sus2 Fsus2

spoke in

D5

“JEREMY” class

E5

F5

today

Gtrs. 1 and 3 substitute Rhy. Fill 1 second time on second chorus 2 21 *Gtr. 00 11 11 11 32 07 03 03 03 42 42 53 00 0 2 2 3

... .

.. ..

2nd time on 2nd chorus, skip ahead to F (bar 37)

A5

... .

Gtr. 3 Rhy. Fig. 2 12 12 13 12 12 13 14 12 13 14 13 14 14

14

.

E 2nd Verse (1:16)

.. 7

Clearly I remember Ooh but we unleashed a lion

5

Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 four times (see bar 9) (1:35) get And he hit me with a surprise

N.C. (A) (G/A)

gg g

33

N.C. (A) (G/A)

G/A

7

33 4

0 5 5

0

5 7 0

‰

00 6 0 7

0 5 70

00 67

00 67

00 67

My jaw left hurtin'

A 7

56 56 556 556

oh 33 4

0 5 7 0

like

A 7

.

the

day I heard

55 5 5 6 7 56 56

0

for-

..

5 7 0

ooh dropped wide open

Asus4

.

can I

Aadd2

A

55 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 57 57 57 56 56

3

*two gtrs. arr. for one

Just like the day

..

end Bass Fig. 3 7 7 0 570

8.

7 7

7

left

G/A

Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 (see bar 9) *Gtr. 4 (clean elec.)

29 33 5 3 3 10 8 8 45 7 70 5 5 0

..

8.

(A)

5

..

J

picking on the boy Seemed a harmless little fuck gnashed his teeth and bit the recess lady's breast How

(G/A)

0 5 5

..

22 0 0 570

Omit 2nd time

.. . .

J *doubled simile by acous. gtr. during chorus

25 Gtr. 1

22 0

end Rhy. Fig. 2 on 1st chorus 12 12 12 12 12 13 12 121412 14 12 12 121412 14 12 14 12 12 14 12 14 14 14 14 14

Bass Bass substitutes Bass Fill 1 second time on 2nd chorus Bass Fig. 3 7 8 8 8 5 7 7 8

N.C. (A)

22 0

0 5 7 0

Go back to C

Asus4

A

55 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 57 57 57 56 56

Gtrs. 2 and 3 (w/dist.)

0 5 7 0

guitarworld.com

101

TRANSCRIPTIONS

F

(2:30) Jeremy

spoke in

A7sus2 Fsus2

class

D5

Gtr. 3 plays Rhy. Fig. 2 (see bar 21) 11 11 00 10 32 03 03 70 3 00

2 37 Gtr. 0 1

... .

... .

E5

F5

A5

42 42 2 2

53 3

22 0

today

Gtr. 3

...

22 22 0 0

G Interlude (2:39) Ooh

ooh

N.C. (A) 41

~~~~~

Gtrs. 2 and 3 7

Bass 7 this

ooh

(G)

ooh

~~~~~~

0

5

5

0

5

5

5 7 0

7

0

5 7 0

7

2 « 2 «

Try

0

(Try to forget this)

45

(A)

ooh

ooh

ooh

(G)

ooh

ooh ooh ooh ooh

5 7 5

5

0

5 7 5

5

to erase

this

~~~~~

0

0

(G)

(A)

5 7 0

5 7 0

2 «

(Try

to

erase

ooh ooh Try to forget

from

this)

P.M.

(G)

(A)

2 «

~~~~~~~

0

...

Gtr. 1

Bass plays Bass Fig. 3 (see bar 21)

.

12 12 22 12 14 12 14 14 2212 22 12 14 0 0 0 0 5 7 0

the black-

|

7

0

5

5

0

5 7 0

0

0

0

0

0

0

5 7 0

7

0

5

5

0

5 7 0

0

0

0

0

0

0

7

‰

H 3rd Chorus (2:57) board

N.C.(Am) (Dm/F)

49 Gtr. 2

10 10 78 08

J

...

10 08

10 08

Gtr. 3

gg 121314 13 14 12 12 13 14 Bass 7 8

J

102

.

8

.

D5

E5

20 0

42 2

...

14 .

J

8

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

5

.

42 2

13 13

7

7

F5

A5

N.C.(Boct)

53 3

22 0

4 4 2 2

...

12 14 13

8

8

.

5 3

..

gg 121314...

≥

..

(Coct)

2 2

3

.

(Doct) 7 7 5 5 0 5 7 0

13 14

5 5 0 5 7 0

“JEREMY” Jeremy

spoke in

N.C. (A5)(G5)

53 *

10 8 70 5

J

..

class

D5

8 8 8 5 5 5 0

32 00

... .

E5

N.C.

42 42 2 2

5 3

today

A5 22 0

22 0

22 0

0 5 70

*Doubled by acoustic (w/slight variations)

12 12 12 13 14 12 12 13 14

.

5 5 5

Jeremy

spoke in

Bass Fig. 4 7 5

J

57

N.C. (A5)(F5) 10 10 70 8

J

..

J

.

8

Jeremy

N.C. (A5) (G5)

61 Gtr. 2

10 8 70 5

D5

..

.

12 121412 14 12 12 12 14

7 7

0.

class

today

E5

F5

A5

42 42 2 2

53 3

22 0

5

in

.

7 7

... .

32 00

Gtr. 3 12 12 13 14 13 12 12 13 14

14

Bass plays Bass Fig. 4 (see bar 53)

8

spoke in

D5

8 8 8 5 5 5

J

3

12 12 14 13 13 13 13 14

8

spoke

12 13 12 13 14 14 14

32..

00..

12 13 12 13 13 14

J

.

5.

10 10 10 8 8 8

12 13 13 14

7 8

14

.

121412 14 12 14 12 12 14

end Bass Fig. 4 7 0 077 5 7 0

0

22 0

.

E5

N.C.

42 42 2 2

5 3 0

12 13 12 13 12 13 12

14

0 0 0 0 0

Jeremy

A5

14

J

0 0 0 0 0

1214 12 14 12 14 12 12 14

0

14

22 0

0 57 0

121412 14 12 14 12 12 14

14

7 0 0 7 7 5 7 0

0

spoke in

spoke in

22 0

22 0

22 0 0 570

13 12 14 12 13 12 13 12 13 14 12 13

12 13 12 13 14 12 13 13 14 13 14 13 14 guitarworld.com

103

TRANSCRIPTIONS Jeremy 65

spoke in

N.C. (A5) (F) 10 10 70 8

..

1 1

I

32..

00..

10 10 10 8 8 8

13 14 14

class

D5

today

E5

F5

A5

42 42 2 2

53 3 0

22 0

22 0

12 12 13 14 14 14 13 14 13 14 0

13 14 12 13 14 13 12 13 14 13 14 14

12 13 12 13 13 14 12 13

13 14 13 14 14 13 12 13 14 12 13

1 1 1 1 1

3 3

J

‰

Outro (3:41) Ooh

ooh

*N.C. (F)

ooh

ooh

(G)

‰

ooh

3 3

ooh

3

ooh

5

ooh

Gtr. 4 plays Rhy. Fill 2 (see below) 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 13 13 14 13 14 13 14 13 13 13 14 13 13 14 13 13 14 13 14

Gtr. 2 69 12 12

Gtrs. 1 and 3 Rhy. Fig. 4 7.

5.

4 4 5 2 2 3

..

7.

5.

Bass Bass Fig. 5 1 1

‰

1 1 1 1 1

3 3

4 4 5 2 2 3

‰

..

3 3 3 3 3

3

7 7

5

A5

ooh

5 5 5 5 5

ooh

ooh

22 0 0 570

5 5 5 5 5 5 5

ooh

ooh

ooh

ooh

ooh ooh

ooh

ooh

(G)

ooh

ooh

ooh

13 14 13 13 14 13 14 13 12 14

22 0

22 0

5 5

ooh

Gtrs. 1 and 3 repeat Rhy. Fig. 4 three times simile (see bar 69) 12 12 12 12 13 12 13 12 13 14 13 14 13 14 13 14 14 14

73 Gtr. 2

Bass plays Bass Fig. 5 (see bar 69)

104

G U I T A R WORL D • AUGUST 2021

ooh

12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 14

7

5 5

7 7

end Rhy. Fig. 4 22 0 0 5 7 0 end Bass Fig. 5

5

5 5 5 5

5 5 5

*chord names reflect overall harmony

N.C. (F)

5

A5

ooh

ooh

ooh

ooh

12 12 13 13 14 13 14 15 14 15 14 14 14

ooh

ooh

13 12 13 13 14 14 13 14

5

“JEREMY” (3:58) Whoa

N.C. (F)

(G)

(tacet 1st time) dips w/bar -1/2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 77 Gtr. 2

-1

.. 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15

A5 -1 -1 -1 -1

-1 -1 -1

16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

-1 -1 -1 -1

-1

-1 -1 -1

Bass

.. Bass Fig. 6‰ 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

N.C. (F)

17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15

N.C.(F)

(G) -1

‘

89

N.C. (F)

.. 14 ..

12 J

-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

-1

(G)

14 14 12 12

14 12

-1

Ending (4:49)

Uh-huh

N.C.

..

-1

-1

A5

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

‘ -1

10 10 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7

Uh-huh

-1

A5

16 16 17 17 17 14 14 15 15 15

14 12

-1

Uh-huh

(drums out) -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 93

-1

‘

Ah

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Uh-huh

A5

14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Bass plays Bass Fig. 6 four times (see bar 77) Whoa

‘

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

(G)

Gtrs. 1 and 3 play Rhy. Fig. 4 four times (see bar 69) -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 81 Gtr. 2

(4:32)

..

end Bass Fig. 6

Whoa

85

..

‘

14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

-1

-1

10 10 7 7

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

10 10 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 7

Uh-huh

-1

10 10 7 7

Uh-huh 14 12

..

..

14 14 12 12

Uh-huh

Uh-huh

-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Bass (w/fast modulation effect) 12 11 12 7 9 10 4 5 7 0 14 0 0 12 0 9 0 0 10 0 5 0 0 7 97

-1 -1

-1

-1

-1 -1

-1

U

2 Œ Œ

14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 12 0 14 0 0 12

4 5 7 0 5 0 0 7

gradually slower

7 9 0 9 0 0 10 10

4 5 0 5 0 0 7 0

24

4 0 5 0

44

let ring

0

>5 >5

N.H.

guitarworld.com

105

TONAL RECALL THE SECRETS BEHIND FAMOUS GUITAR SOUNDS

“SUPERSONIC”

OASIS | DEFINITELY MAYBE, 1994 | GUITARIST: NOEL GALLAGHER | STORY BY CHRIS GILL NOEL GALLAGHER IS known for

having a pretty damn sweet guitar collection that includes vintage Gibson Les Pauls and ES-355s, Epiphone Sheratons and Rivieras, Telecasters, Rickenbackers and much more. However, long before Oasis became a multi-Platinum-selling sensation, his rig was about as modest as it gets. In December 1993 when Oasis recorded their first single, “Supersonic,” at the Pink Museum recording studio in Liverpool, all he had was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, a used WEM/ Watkins Dominator MKIII combo and a Roland RE-201 Space Echo (back when one could be bought for a few hundred bucks instead of a few thousand like today).

The Dominator combo is the secret weapon here, as the amp was unfairly maligned by tone snobs for decades and has only recently caught the attention of collectors. Marshall’s legendary 18-watt amps famously appropriated the circuit of original early Sixties Watkins Dominator, with

its distinctive V-shaped cabinet and twotone blue-and-white cosmetics. But even though the appearance of the Dominator changed drastically over the years, its basic circuit underwent only minor updates, such as swapping a solid-state rectifier for the tube version, ditching the tremolo circuit and changing the EQ from a single tone knob to separate treble and bass controls.

As a result, even Dominator models from the Seventies still deliver similar mojo to an 18-watt Marshall for a lot less bucks.

Gallagher initially overdubbed several rhythm tracks in an attempt to build a wall of sound, although engineer Dave Scott later stripped down his rhythm part to only a pair of tracks during mixing. Gallagher’s Epiphone Les Paul through the Dominator is the first guitar track heard, joined around the 30-second mark by a heavier, fuzzier rhythm guitar played by Bonehead using a Gibson SG through a Marshall JCM900 half stack. Gallagher employed the same Epiphone/WEM rig for the lead overdubs, but Scott employed a handful of tricks to make the parts stand out, including placing the Dominator in a stone room with close and distance mics and recording a second unison overdub with the

Noel Gallagher with his Epiphone Les Paul in early 1994

tape varispeed slightly sped up to thicken the guitar tone via natural detuned chorus. It appears that Gallagher didn’t use his Roland RE-201 Space Echo during the session, but he did use the tape delay unit in live performance to replicate the thick, slapback-like lead guitar sound crafted for the recording.

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP!

Epiphone Les Paul Standard ’50s Marshall Origin ORI50C Boss RE-20 Space Echo

TONE TIP: Crank up the Master control all the way and slowly bring up the Gain just past the brink of overdrive. To generate Manchester grunge you need dynamics, brightness and sparkle instead of compressed crunch

ORIGINAL GEAR

GUITAR: c. early Nineties Epiphone Les Paul Standard (bridge pickup) Volume: 10, Tone: 10

AMPS: c. early Seventies Watkins/ WEM Dominator MK III combo (Channel 2 input, Volume: 10, Bass: 4, Treble: 6) with Celestion G12H 30-watt 12inch speaker

STRINGS/TUNING: Ernie Ball Regular Slinky .010-.046/Standard PICK: Dunlop Tortex .88mm guitarworld.com

110

SNREFDER/NOSKCID NAI

EFFECTS: Roland RE-201 Space Echo (Instrument input, Echo On, Instrument Volume: 6, Mode: 1, Repeat Rate: 4, Intensity: 4, Echo Volume: 10, Output: H)